THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 

GIFT  OF 


William  Noblitt 


Entered  According  to  Act  of  Congress,  A.D.,  1904,  by 

CLARA  A.  B   CORBYN 
All  Rights  Reserved  by  the  Author 


LA   GRAN    QUIBIRA 

A    Musical    Mystery 


OPERA  HISTORIQUE 


A    ROMANZA 

In  FIVE  ACTS,  with  OVERTURE,  PRELUDE  and  INTERLUDE 


...  BY  ... 

CLARA   A.    B.    CORBYN 


The  Author'!  Edition 


rs 


TO  THE  MANY— 

To  whose  generosity  in  subscrib- 
ing for  an  unpublished  book  by  an 
Author,  unknown  to  them  either  in 
person  or  by  reputation,  the  suc- 
cessful publication  of  this  volume 
is  due,  with  a  full  appreciation  of 
their  confidence  in  me  as  shown  by 
this  act,  and  by  their  patient  wait- 
ing, this  tardy  return  of  "the  bread" 
they  thus  "cast  upon  the  waters," 
bespeaking  their  further  indulgence 
for  the  faults  that  the  blind  writer 
has  not  been  able  to  correct,  and 
trusting  we  may  meet  again,  this 
special  edition  of  "La  Gran  Quibira  — 
A  Musical  Mystery,"  is  respectfully 
dedicated  by 

The  Author, 

CLARA  A.  B.  CORBYN. 


923212 


PROGRAMME 


THE  OVERTURE 

Symphony  Primo  Symphony  Secundo 

A  Minor  C  Major 

"HE"  "SHE" 

Invocation — Revelation  Inspiration — Divination 

Page  19  Page  51 


THE  PRELUDE 

Tema 
Page  85 


PROGRAMME 


LA  ROMANZA 

ACT  I. 

Page. 

Canto  First,  "The  Gifts  of  the  Gods"  107 

Canto  Second,  "The  Exile" 115 

Canto  Third,  "Passion  Flowers" 117 

Canto  Fourth,  "Equal  Rights"    120 

Canto  Fifth,  "Cowing  the  Bull" 122 

Canto  Sixth,  "Halcyon  Days"   124 

Canto  Seventh,  "A  Wave  of  Her  Fairy  Godmother  Wand"  129 

Canto  Eighth,  "Rosario,   the   Joyful" 134 

Canto  Ninth,  "The  Enchanted  Palace" 137 

Canto  Tenth,  "Trilobitz"  141 

Canto  Eleventh,  "The  Chase"    144 

Canto  Twelfth,  "The  Song  of  the  Wild  Bird" 150 

Canto  Thirteenth,  "The  Refractory  Song  Bird" 157 

Canto  Fourteenth,  "The  Poetry  of  Motion"   160 


PROGRAMME 


Page. 

Canto  Fifteenth,  "The  Rival  Queens"  164 

Canto  Sixteenth,  "The  Dedication"  168 

Canto  Seventeenth,  "Accusing  Spirits"  . .. 172 

Canto  Eighteenth,  "The  Haunted  Schoolroom" 176 

Canto  Nineteenth,  "Vashti" 180 

Canto  Twentieth,  "'When  Robert  Went  A-Wooin'  " 185 

Canto  Twenty-First,  "Ta-ta,  TriloUtz" 193 

Canto  Twenty-Second,  "The  Turtle  Doves"  199 

Canto  Twenty-Third,  "A  Laggard  in  Love" 205 

Canto  Twenty-Fourth,  "A  Narrow  Escape"  208 

Canto  Twenty-Fifth,  "Absolution"  214 

Canto  Twenty-Sixth,  "She  Won't,  and  There's  an  End 

On't"  217 

Canto  Twenty-Seventh,  "The  Maiden  Is  Not  Dead,  but 

Sleepeth"  222 

Canto  Twenty-Eighth,  "Sweet  Spirit,  Hear  My  Prayer"  . .  230 


PROGRAMME 


ACT   II. 

Page. 

Canto  First,  "So  Merrily  Chime  the  Wedding  Bells" 233 

Canto  Second,  "A  Married  Debutante" 237 

Canto  Third,  "Birds  in  Their  Little  Nests  Agree" 246 

Canto  Fourth,  "Echoes  From  the  Wedding  Bells" 249 

Canto  Fifth,  "The  Gubernatorial  Blessing" 254 

Canto  Sixth,  "The  Winged  Fairy  Waltz" 262 

Canto  Seventh,  "A  Feast  of  Roses" 269 

Canto  Eighth,  "Daisy's  'At  Home'  " 275 

Canto  Ninth,  "Point  Lace  and  Diamonds" 283 

Canto  Tenth,  "Fluttering  Wings"  290 

Canto  Eleventh,  "Wai  Halla"..                                           .  294 


PROGRAMME 


ACT  III, 

Page. 

Canto  First,   "A   Transformation"    300 

Canto  Second,  "Rosario,  the  Sorrowful"  304 


PROGRAMME 


ACT  IV. 

Page. 

Canto  First,  "When  the  Swallows  Homeward  Fly" 307 

Canto  Second,  "Making  the  Best  of  Things"  309 

Canto  Third,  "The  Comanche's  Revenge" 314 

Canto  Fourth,   "La  Gato" 317 

Canto  Fifth,  "A  Winged  Messenger"  322 

Canto  Sixth,  "Santa  Maria  Del  Sol"  326 

Canto  Seventh,  "A  Running  Stream  They  Dare  Na'  Cross.  329 

Canto  Eighth,  "A  Retrospect— Hidden  Treasures"  333 

Canto  Ninth,  "The  King  Is  Dead— Long  Live  the  King"  . .  338 

Canto  Tenth,  "Curse  God  and  Die"  342 

Canto  Eleventh,  "Ho,  for  La  Gran  Quibira" 347 

Canto  Twelfth,  "Footprints  of  the  Past"  350 

Canto  Thirteenth,  "Mystic  Music"   352 

Canto  Fourteenth,  "Footprints  in  the  Sand" 358 

Canto  Fifteenth,  "The  Judgment"   360 

Canto  Sixteenth,  "The  Sacred  Sun- Wood" 366 

Canto  Seventeenth,  "A  Spring  of  Living  Waters" 370 

Canto  Eighteenth,  "The  Life  Beyond  the  Grave" 375 

THE  INTERLUDE 

Retrospect,  "The  City  Called  Beautiful" 378 


PROGRAMME 


ACT  V. 

Page. 

Canto  First,  "The  Beginning  of  the  End" 427 

Canto  Second,  "Life's  Hopes   Renewed"    432 

Canto  Third,  "Love's  Dream  Broken" 436 

Canto  Fourth,  "A  Reminiscence— 'Haunting  Dreams'  "  ..  441 

Canto  Fifth,  "Sweet  Bunch  of  Daisies" 488 

Canto  Sixth,  "Touch  Not,  Taste  Not,  Handle  Not" 493 

Canto  Seventh,  "Wait  'Til  I  Come  Again" 500 

Canto  Eighth,  "Judas  Iscariot"     506 

Canto  Ninth,  "The  Journey  Down  Into  Hades"  509 

Canto  Tenth,  "A  Midsummer  Night's  Dream" 516 

Canto  Eleventh,  "Rosario,  the  Glorious— He  Hath  Arisen!"  523 


LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 


A    MUSICAL    MYSTERY 


OPERA  HISTORIQUE 


THE   OVERTURE 


SYMPHONY  PRIMO.     (A  Minor) 
"HE" 

INVOCATION  -  -  -  REVELATION 


SYMPHONY  PRIMO.    (A  Minor) 

INVOCATION  REVELATION 

"HE" 

I  herald  the  dawn  of  a  New  Era— an  era  that  will  mark  the 
rewedding  of  Science  to  Religion,  those  two  whom  God  had 
"  joined  together"  yet  whom  man  hath  "put  asunder." 

The  first  step  to  be  taken  toward  inaugurating  this  New  Era 
is  to  supply  those  missing  links  in  the  history,  both  sacred  and 
profane,  of  this  little  world  of  ours.  Links,  the  absence  of  which 
is  shown  by  the  breaks  that  occur  in  the  chain  of  events  which 
connects  this,  the  31st  day  of  October,  Anno  Domini,  eighteen 
hundred  and  ninety-seven  with  the  evening  of  the  sixth  day  of 
the  year  four  thousand  and  four,  before  Christ,  which  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  the  exact  date  upon  which  Man  as  a  finished 
creation,  entered  into  full  possession  of  The  Earth  as  his  in- 
heritance. 

These  missing  links  have  been  supplied  to  me  not  only  by  re- 
search, but  by  inspiration  and  by  revelation  also. 

I  am  well  aware  that  it  is  the  habit  not  only  of  the  sterner 
sex,  but  of  my  own  to  look  with  something  of  contempt  upon  the 
work  of  woman.  Yet  from  the  beginning  woman  has  ever  been 
the  connecting  link  between  the  human  and  the  Divine — between 
man  and  his  Creator,  between  thee  and  thy  God,  a  link  never 
missing,  for  when  since  her  creation  has  there  ever  been  a  time 
when  there  was  not  known  to  have  been  "A  woman  in  the 
case  1 ' ' 

Remember  Lilith,  Adam's  spirit  wife;  remember  Eve;  and 
Mary,  beloved  of  the  Almighty;  and  refuse  not  therefore  to  hear- 
ken to  His  message  sent  unto  you,  although  delivered  by  the 
lips  of  a  woman. 

*     *     * 

I  think  there  is  nothing  more  irritating  to  the  American 
ethnologist  than  that  air  of  contemptuous  superiority  which  our 
sister  continent  just  over  the  way  assumes,  when,  pointing  to 
her  ruins  historic  and  pre-historic — relics  she  claims  of  the  days 


20  LA   GRAN    QUIBIRA 

of  the  ancient  Roman,— relics  of  the  ancient  Saxon— relics  of 
the  ancient  Lord-knows- who-else,— she  says  to  us:  "I  am  the  Old 
World.  Thou  art  the  New." 

Now,  if  we  are  to  believe  the  story  of  the  Creation  as  given 
in  Scriptural  lore,  as  handed  down  through  generation  after  gen- 
eration  as  commonly  accepted  both  by  Jew  and  by  Gentile,  in 
fact  by  all  known  people  and  nations,  religions  and  creeds,  then 
are  we  twin  productions  of  the  Creator's  hand.  While  the 
geologist,  the  geographer,  the  historian  and  the  traveler  assure 
us  that  we  sprang  into  existence  as  quadruplets,  united  by  bonds 
as  slender  in  proportion  to  our  entire  bodies  and  as  indissoluble 
as  was  the  cord  which  connected  the  celebrated  Siamese  twins  of 
our  own  day  and  generation ;  and  the  astronomer,  the  astrologer — 
but  here  let  us  pause.  This  portion  of  our  discourse,  at  least,  is 
meant  to  be  purely  of  the  earth  earthy,  and  not  even  to  carry 
conviction  to  the  mind  of  our  contumacious  twin  will  we  be 
forced  prematurely  to  seek  the  help  of  the  Heavenly  bodies  in 
settling  this,  our  family  controversy. 

But  truly  great  results  from  small  beginnings  rise,  and  this 
taunt  of  our  twin  continent  has  had  the  effect  to  induce  me,  even 
me  an  humble  female,  to  abandon  my  only  legitimate  business 
(at  least  so  it  is  called  by  every  "lord  of  creation"  down  even 
to  "the  superfluous  man")  to  desert  my  only  legitimate  busi- 
ness, that  of  "baking  and  brewing  and  broiling  and  stewing" 
and  arming  myself  with  this  essentially  feminine  implement 
both  of  peace  and  of  war  (the  broom)  attempt  with  its  aid  alone 
to  "Sweep  the  cobwebs  from  the  face  of  Time,"  to  clear  away 
the  "dust  of  ages"  and  so  lay  bare  to  the  view  of  the  whole  world 
a  history  for  this  so-called  "New  World"  which  shall  co-date  if 
it  does  not  ante-date  that  of  the  self-styled  "Old  World." 
*  *  * 

In  choosing  this  career  for  myself  "  Will '- 'e-Nill 'e  "  I  adopt 
for  my  precepta  principe  the  axiom  of  the  ancient  Greek, 
"Know  thyself."  and  a  thorough  examination  into  my  capabili- 
ties for  this  task  shows  me  that  the  qualification  I  possess  which 
in  the  greatest  degree  fits  me  for  its  successful  pursuit,  is  that  of 
a  most  profound  ignorance  of  the  subject  involved. 

You  doubt  this,  yet  I  maintain  that  total  ignorance  is  the 
best  foundation  or  rather  it  is  the  excavation  within  which  the 
surest  foundation  may  be  laid,  upon  which  to  erect  a  solid  super- 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  21 

structure  of  true  knowledge.  That,  as  the  blank  sheet  of  paper 
pure  and  unsullied  as  it  leaves  its  maker's  hand,  is  best  adapted 
to  receive  and  to  retain  the  most  distinctly  legible  written  im- 
pressions, so  the  mind  that  is  free  from  all  preconceived  ideas  on 
a  subject,  that  is  unfettered  by  the  prejudices  of  others,  un- 
biased by  their  theories,  is  best  calculated  to  arrive  at  a  truly 
correct  solution  of  this  or  any  other  problem. 

But  here  I  find  a  stumbling  block  in  the  shape  of  another 
self-evident  fact.  The  ancient  Greek  was  not  up  with  our  times 
and  I  find  that  it  is  not  only  necessary  for  me  to  know  myself, 
and  to  acknowledge  my  deficiencies,  but  that  I  must  remedy  them 
to  a  certain  extent  by  combining  with  this  axiom  of  the  ancient 
Greek  one  which,  whether  it  be  modern  Greek  or  Polyglot,  bids 
me  know  other  people.  At  least,  I  find  it  requisite  to  the  suc- 
cess of  my  undertaking,  that,  at  its  very  outset  I  form  the 
acquaintance  of  such  of  those  other  people  as  have  trodden  this 
self-same  pathway  before  me. 

"By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them." 

And  first  encasing  myself  in  the  armor  of  a  firm  resolve  that 
in  pursuit  of  the  truth  of  this  matter  I  would  thoroughly  sift 
the  wheat  of  indisputable  fact  from  the  chaff  of  individual 
theory,  that  I  would  separate  the  true  metal  from  the  false  by 
applying  to  all,  that  infallible  test,  a  little  of  the  acid  of  common 
sense  I  make  the  plunge  and  dive  to  the  very  bottom  of  this,  to 
me  hitherto  unknown  sea  called  American  retrospective  litera- 
ture ;  and  rising  to  the  surface  I  acquaint  myself  with  its  boun- 
daries, its  outlines,  its  limit,  its  extent,  and  each  peculiarity  of 
feature  which  distinguishes  it,  and  find  that  what  I  before  sus- 
pected is  true:  "This  sea  is  not  entirely  composed  of  true  his- 
toric brine,  but  is  largely  made  up  of  a  mixture,  thick,  sticky, 
extremely  sweet  and  therefore  palatable  to  the  taste  of  all,  which 
I  unhesitatingly  pronounce  to  be  mere  literary  taffy,  against 
whose  sweet  seductions  I  remain  proof,  thanks  to  the  precaution- 
ary armor  I  have  assumed." 

The  most  startling  feature  which  presents  itself  is  the  fact 
of  how  very  little  real  progress  has  been  made  toward  the  solu- 
tion of  this  question  during  the  past  few  generations  of  scienti- 
fic research. 

The  want  of  progress  made  is  truly  appalling,  and  would 
deter  from  further  pursuit  of  the  subject  any  save  a  most  de- 


22  LA   GRAN    QUIBffiA 

termined  woman,  who  as  the  adage  has  it:  "When  she  will,  she 
will,  you  may  depend  on  it;  And  when  she  won't,  she  won't— 
and  there 's  an  end  on  't. ' ' 

Now  /  will.    And  believe  me  upon  whatsoever    pathway    I 
plant  this,  my  right  foot,  my  left  is  bound  to  follow. 


In  attempting  to  trace  the  lineage  of  the  true-born  American 
citizen  of  today  back  in  a  direct  line  to  old  Father  Adam  and 
his  much-abused  spouse,  it  is  not  my  intention  to  weigh  with  nice 
distinction  the  respective  claims  of  the  Bi-Metallist,  the  Free- 
Silverite  or  the  Gold  Bug  of  the  present  political  epoch  to  be 
regarded  as  veritable  "Chips  of  the  Old  Blocks;"  but  to  re- 
construct our  racial  genealogical  tree  only  so  far  as  to  place  it 
upon  a  firmer,  more  substantial,  and,  I  trust,  indestructible  basis, 
and  to  supply  those  missing  branches  which  have  been  broken 
off  and  are  supposed  to  have  been  lost  by  that  old  thief,  Time,  in 
his  progress  toward  Eternity. 

To  do  this  we  must  go  back  to  where  the  first  break  seem- 
ingly occurs. 

It  is  conceded  as  an  historical  fact  that  when  Cortez  and 
his  followers  first  set  foot  upon  the  soil  of  this,  the  northern  half 
of  the  American  Continent,  they  found  they  had  invaded  the  ter- 
ritory of  a  vast,  populous  and  powerful  empire,  dominated  by  a 
people  superior  in  every  respect  to  all  those,  apparently  of  the 
same  race,  who  had  before  been  met  with  and  who  are  now  com- 
monly classified  under  the  sweeping  appellation  of  the  North 
American  Indian. 

A  people  who,  according  to  their  conquerors,  were  possessed 
of  attainments  which  in  many  respects  equalled,  if  they  did  not 
surpass,  those  of  a  like  order  possessed  by  the  European  nations 
of  the  same  day. 

Setting  aside  those  peculiar  to  themselves,  among  which  was 
the  art  of  weaving  the  plumage  of  birds  into  beautiful  and  gor- 
geous articles  of  wearing  apparel,  these  attainments  were  more 
particularly  displayed  in  the  architectural  design,  solidity  of 
construction,  and  beauty  of  ornamentation  of  their  buildings, — 
especially  such  of  those  buildings  as  were  devoted  to  the  uses  of 
the  public — and  in  the  exquisite  skill  and  delicacy  with  which 
they  worked  the  precious  stones  and  metals. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  23 

A  people  whose  tragic  fate  as  a  nation  we  know;  of  whose 
doom  as  a  race  we  are  eye  witnesses ;  but  whose  origin  is  involved 
in  obscurity,  and  so  forms  one  of  the  missing  links  of  which  we 

are  in  search. 

*  *     * 

The  religious  faith  of  man  whether  he  be  advanced  in  civ- 
ilization to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  is  inherent;  as  inseparable 
from  his  very  existence  and  history  as  a  created  being,  from  his 
progress  or  decline  as  a  race  or  by  nations — as  inseparable  from 
both  his  moral  and  physical  growth,  from  each  individual  act 
of  his  every-day  life — as  is  the  soul  from  the  body. 

In  attempting  to  treat  this  religious  faith  of  man  as  an 
attribute  that  may  be  considered  apart,  the  scientist  and  ethnolo- 
gist make  a  mistake  that  is  fatal  to  their  own  further  progress 
toward  the  solution  of  the  problem  they  have  set  themselves,  as 
to  where  to  place  the  "divide"  between  the  historic  and  the  pre- 
historic age  of  man. 

'When  they  separate  the  attributes  of  the  soul  from  those 
of  the  body,  and  attempt  to  consider  the  whole  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  latter,  they  but  dig  a  pitfall  for  themselves  into 
which  they  fall  and  flounder  much  to  the  amusement  of  the 
votary  of  common  sense,  who  absolutely  refuses  to  follow  them 
into  this  abyss  which  but  widens  the  breach  made  by  and  makes 
more  apparent,  the  want  of  the  link  that  here  is  missing.  As 
well  take  the  corpse  of  an  unknown  individual  and  pretend  to 
state  writh  accuracy  the  precise  amount  of  knowledge  which  he 
had  acquired,  when  living ;  what  would  be  his  opinion  upon  any 
given  subject,  and  the  language  in  which  he  would  have  ex- 
pressed that  opinion.  When  they  separate  the  soul  from  the 
body  they  but  "douse  the  glim"  which  otherwise  would  have 
lighted  them  successfully  on  their  way. 

*  *     * 

But  these  pioneers  of  research  are  possessed  of  their  little 
fads,  one  of  which  is  that  when  they  have  made  a  new  dis- 
covery— one  which  the  world  recognizes  as  such— they  immedi- 
ately begin  to  think  they  created  the  thing  and  are  so  puffed  up 
with  the  idea  that  they  imagine,  as  a  creator,  they  excel  all  other 
creators,  even  the  Creator  of  the  Universe  Himself. 

This  is  shown  by  their  ever  after  expressing  "Ego"  by  a 
very  large  capital  "I":  while  they  display  an  almost  irresistible 


24  LA  GRAN   QUIBIBA 

desire  to  spell  "God"  with  a  little  "g"  as  "I  and  god."  Re- 
minding one  of  that  other  doughty  pioneer  who,  when  his  cabin 
was  invaded  by  a  huge  bear,  deeming  discretion  the  better  part 
of  valor,  boldly  ran  away  leaving  his  good  wife,  Betty,  to  dis- 
pute the  right  of  possession  of  the  premises  with  the  bear; 
which  indeed,  she  did  and  successfully,  waging  battle  in  which 
Bruin  was  killed ;  her  lord  and  master  meantime  encouraging  her 
by  shouting  through  a  chink  in  the  closed  door:  "Hit  him  on  the 
snoot,.  Betty.  Hit  him  on  the  head. "  And  at  last,  when  the  bear 
was  quite  dead,  came  and  stood  valiantly  over  the  carcass  tell- 
ing the  story  of  the  combat  to  each  curious  new  comer  as :  ' '  We 
did  it.  I  and  Betty  did  it.  I  (sotto  voce)  and  betty  KILLED 
THE  BEAR." 

In  no  instance  is  this  mistake  made  more  apparent  than  in 
their  treatment  of  the  history  of  these  the  Aztec  people  and  of 
their  ruler  at  that  day — the  second  Montezuma,  absolute  mon- 
arch, priest  and  king,  whose  people  believed  him  to  be  half 
human,  half  divine,  who  died  a  martyr  to  his  religious  faith  and 
for  the  redemption  of  his  people. 

Chronicling  this  heroic  act,  our  greatest  and  best  historians 
say  of  him:  "He  was  a  Barbarian."  Yet  what  Christ  sought 
to  become  to  the  Jews,  Montezuma  wished  to  be  to  the  Aztecs, 
and  like  Him  was  accepted  by  the  few,  rejected  by  the  many. 

Think  of  this  great,  this  despotic  monarch,  whose  subjects  of 
the  very  highest  rank  ventured  into  his  presence  only  in  the  garb 
of  servitude,  and  then  dared  not  raise  their  eyes  to  their 
sovereign's  face  without  that  sovereign's  permission,  this  King 
of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords,  who,  in  the  very  prime  of  life  ar- 
rived at  the  topmost  height  of  earthly  glory,  renown  and  riches 
bowed  his  proud  head  voluntarily,  consenting,  after  the  coming 
of  the  Spaniards  to  live  an  ignoble  life  and  to  die  an  ignominious 
death  that  the  prophecy  of  the  great  Quetzalcotl  THE  FAIR 
GOD,  be  fulfilled,  which  prophecy  foretold  that  upon  the  coming 
of  the  Whites  to  rule  over  them,  his  people  would  turn  away 
from  their  idols  and  return  to  the  worship  of  the  one  living  God, 
Creator  of  the  Universe,  invisible,  omnipotent,  omnipresent. 

And  although  they  faithfully  chronicle  this  act,  as  well, 
these  same  historians  style  it  an  act  of  "pusillanimity"  upon  the 
part  of  Montezuma. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  25 

Yet  verily  I  say  unto  you,  but  one  other  such  act  of  sublime 
humility  and  self  abnegation  has  been  recorded  since  the  be- 
ginning of  the  world,  and  if  at  the  last  Montezuma  seemed  to 
weaken,  to  waver,  and  to  doubt,  remember  thou  the  scene  upon 
the  cross  where  Christ  your  chosen  Eedeemer,  acknowledged  that 
He  had  reached  the  very  utmost  limit  of  His  faith  and  powers 
of  endurance,  when  He  cried  in  an  agony  of  reproachful  appeal : 
"My  God,  My  God.  Why  hast  Thou  forsaken  me?" 

It  forms  a  matter  for  curiosity  and  for  speculation  upon  the 
part  of  the  disciple  of  common  sense,  as  to  which  will  receive 
the  greatest  mercy  at  the  judgment  seat : 

The  Jews — God's  chosen  people  who  slew  His  prophets  and 
condemned  to  the  shameful  death  of  a  common  malefactor  Him 
whose  sinless  life  and  purity  of  teaching  made  Him  worthy  at 
least  to  be  accepted  as  The  Messiah  for  whose  coming  they  had 
been  prepared;  the  bigot  Cortez,  who  in  the  name  of  this  same 
Messiah  who  taught  only  "Peace  on  earth  and  good  will  to  man," 
committed  acts  of  atrocity  unparalleled  in  the  annals  of  war, 
maiming  for  life  hundreds  of  captive  warriors,  burning  at  the 
stake  all  those  who  refused  to  acknowledge  the  Spaniards'  King 
and  the  Spaniards'  God,  and  varying  the  programme  by  roast- 
ing upon  hot  gridirons  all  who  refused,  through  ignorance 
without  doubt,  to  disclose  the  secret  of  the  burial  place  of  the 
riches  that  were  all  their  own  but  which  were  coveted  by  their 
conquerors;  or  this  "pusillanimous  barbarian,"  Montezuma,  who 
it  is  true  tolerated  the  sacrifice  of  human  victims  to  the  gods  by 
tearing  out  their  hearts  while  yet  they  breathed,  but  who  when 
urged  by  Cortez  and  his  priests  to  renounce  his  own  and  his 
people's  God  and  to  turn  to  the  worship  of  the  God  of  the  Span- 
iards whose  characteristics,  however,  they  described  as  being  the 
same,  replied:  "Why  surely  thy  God  is  my  God.  Then  why  not 
let  my  people  be  thy  people?"  (Or  words  to  that  effect.) 

Tell  us  which  will  receive  the  greatest  favor  in  Thy  sight: 

"Oh  Thou  Wha  in  the  Heavens  doth  dwell, 

And  Wha,  as  pleaseth  best  Thysel' 

Sends  ane  to  Heaven  and  ten  to  Hell  a'  for  Thy  glory. 

And  no  for  ony  good  or  ill  they've  done  afore  Thee?" 
*     *     * 

In  setting  forth  upon  my  voyage  of  discovery  into  the  un- 
known regions  of  the  past,  in  quest  of  those  mysterious  truths 


26  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

concerning  the  pre-historic  age  of  North  America — truths 
which  so  far  have  baffled  every  effort  made  to  capture  them  upon 
the  part  of  the  scientist  and  historian  both  of  the  past 
and  of  the  present — I  prayed  most  earnestly  to  be  delivered  from 
that  temptation  to  self  glorification  which  has  betrayed  even  the 
most  eminent  of  these,  into  committing  the  folly  of  foisting  upon 
a  credulous  world  some  speculative  theory  of  their  own  and  un- 
blushingly  labeling  it  "A  true  historic  fact,  which  I,  Blank,  the 
scientist,  or  I,  Blank,  the  historian,  or  I,  Blank,  the  great  arch- 
aeologist, or  I,  Blank  antiquarian  and  ethnologist,  have  alone  of 
all  the  world  been  able  to  discover." 

Reminding  one  of  the  Irishman  who  having  learned  to  play 
the  violin  not  quite  correctly,  stopped  each  time  he  made  a  blun- 
der and  cried  in  triumph:  "Ah,  do  ye  moind  that  now?  That's 
a  little  thing  Oi  put  in  mesilf !" 

Two  classes  of  these  what  may  be  termed  "Unsuccessfully 
Successful  Discoverers" — the  one  of  which  setting  forth  in 
quest  of  some  particular  object  whose  distinctive  attributes 
they  minutely  describe,  finds  not  the  object  of  their  search,  but 
something  totally  different  in  character,  yet  declare  that  the  two 
are  one  and  the  same,  because  they,  not  being  able  to  find  the 
one,  and  having  found  the  other — it  must  be  so;  the  other  ad- 
mitting total  failure  upon  their  part  to  find  anything  which  in 
the  least  degree  resembles  the  place,  person  or  thing,  for  which 
they  are  looking,  just  as  stoutly  maintains  that  the  thing  does 
not  exist,  and  that  it  never  had  an  existence,  except  in  the  imag- 
inative Realms  of  Romance. 

These  two  classes  of  discoverers,  I  say,  find  practical  illustra- 
tion in  the  histories  of  the  respective  expeditions  of  Coronado 
and  Espiho  in  quest  of  the  celebrated  Gran  Quibiran  metal 
workers  of  The  Seven  Cities  of  the  Cibola. 

It  is  also  an  historical  fact  that  when  the  Spaniards  oc- 
cupied Tinnoctitlan  as  its  conquerors,  they  failed  to  find  that 
amount  of  rich  spoils  in  wrought  gold,  silver  and  other  precious 
articles,  they  had  expected.  And  since  Cortez  and  his  band  de- 
clared that  they  themselves  had  beheld  the  wonderful  treasures 
they  described,  they  could  but  conclude  that  the  inhabitants, 
during  the  siege,  had  managed  to  secrete  or  bury  the  greater 
part  of  their  valuables  both  private  and  public. 


A  MUSICAL,  MYSTERY  27 

No  amount  of  tortue,  however,  inflicted  by  these  their  Chris- 
tian conquerors  upon  the  few  surviving  barbarians,  was  suffi- 
cient to  extort  from  them  the  secret  of  its  burial  place,  or  indeed 
the  admission  that  they  had  ever  possessed  the  vast  riches 
ascribed  to  them;  and  they  denied  that  they  knew  aught  of  the 
process  of  working  the  precious  stones  and  metals. 

They  told,  however,  the  story  of  a  portion  of  their  own  peo- 
ple who  inhabited  seven  great  cities  to  the  Far  North,  who  had 
arrived  at  an  even  higher  grade  of  civilization  than  themselves, 
possessed  immense  riches  in  the  shape  of  the  coveted  metals, 
and  understood  the  art  of  working  them. 

Many  expeditions  were  fitted  out  by  the  Spaniards  to  search 
for  this  people,  tempted  by  the  prospect  of  the  immense  booty  to 
be  obtained  from  their  conquest. 

All  of  these  expeditions,  however,  proved  fruitless.  Principal 
among  them  were  those  of  the  Spanish  generals,  Coronado  and 
Espiho,  before  alluded  to. 

Coronado  set  forth  from  the  Valley  of  Anahuec  in  the  year 
of  our  Lord — knows  when  (being  a  woman  I  claim  a  woman's 
privilege  of  uncertainly  as  to  dates)  but  it  was  somewhere  near 
the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century.  He  set  forth  then  at  this 
precise  date  from  the  Valley  of  Anahuec,  with  a  band  of  one 
thousand  men  and  journeying  a  little  to  the  east  of  north,  he  fol- 
lowed the  course  of  the  River  Pecos  its  entire  length,  and  from 
thence  crossed  over  to  the  banks  of  the  Platte  River,  within 
what  is  now  the  boundaries  of  the  State  of  Nebraska. 

Here  he  found  a  vast  Indian  community  occupying  a  num- 
ber of  large  villages.  These  Indians,  it  is  true,  possessed  no  de- 
gree of  the  looked-for  civilization.  They  dwelt  not  in  habita- 
tions of  wrought  stone,  but  in  miserable  huts  rudely  constructed 
of  earth  and  reeds.  They  were  not  rich  but  very  poor,  subsisting 
mainly  by  hunting  and  fishing.  They  were  totally  ignorant  of 
the  art  of  working  the  metals;  or  indeed,  of  the  uses  to  which 
the  metals  were  put.  Yet  the  disappointed  General  Coronado, 
unwilling  to  acknowledge  himself  defeated,  declared  this  to  be 
the  long-sought-for  Gran  Quibira  and  (whisper  it  low)  our  own 
Bureau  of  Ethnology  records  it  as  such. 

[N.  B. — Coronado  was  evidently  taking  a  long  look  ahead 
and  was  deceived  by  a  vision  in  which  that  champion  Nebraskan 


28  LA   GRAN    QUIBIRA 

metal  worker  of  the  future,  William  Jennings  Bryan,  loomed  up 
amid  the  possibilities  of  the  "Sweet  bye-and-bye."] 

Espiho  started  from  the  City  of  Mexico  within  a  short  time 
of  the  above  mentioned  date,  with  an  army  of  about  four  thous- 
and men  and  following  the  course  of  the  Rio  Grande  along  its 
western  bank,  he  finally  arrived  at  Jemez,  and  from  thence 
crossed  over  to  the  conquest  of  that  Indian  Province  whose  prin- 
cipal pueblo  "Oga-Na-Po-ga"  stood  upon  the  site  now  occupied 
by  the  New  Mexico  territorial  capital,  Santa  Fe. 

Finding  no  similarity  between  the  friendly  Indians  along 
his  route  or  these  conquered  Indians,  to  the  Indians  for  whom 
he  was  looking,  Espiho  declared  it  to  be  his  belief  that  the  story 
of  La  Gran  Quibira  was  a  mere  fabrication,  and  that  of  the 
metal  workers  of  The  Seven  Cities  of  the  Cibola,  a  myth. 

Yet  the  story  of  this  mythical  Gran  Quibira  has  ever 
possessed  a  greater  charm  for  the  imagination  of  the  student  of 
American  archaeology  than  has  any  other  known  tradition  of  the 
North  American  Indian.  A  charm  which,  strangely  enough,  in 
nine  cases  out  of  ten  merges  into  an  absolute  conviction  that  the 
Gran  Quibiran  Confederation  of  The  Seven  Cities  of  the  Ciboia 
had  an  actual  existence,  notwithstanding  the  failure  upon  the 
part  of  Generals  Coronado  and  Espiho  and  other  leaders  of  ex- 
peditions, to  discover  its  whereabouts — a  conviction  which  I 
share  with  these  of  my  male  contemporaries  together  with  the 
belief  that  the  best  place  in  which  to  search  for,  with  the  hope 
of  uncovering,  the  hidden  events  of  the  mysterious  past,  is  the 
ground  upon  which  those  events  are  said  to  have  occurred. 

Thus,  in  my  efforts  to  supply  that  missing  link  which  would 
connect  the  known  with  the  unknown  history  of  the  Aztecs,  it  is 
my  belief  that  I  might  have  sought  for  it  with  surer  prospect  of 
success  in  the  Ancient  Valley  of  Anahuec  itself ;  in  the  City  of 
Mexico,  built  upon  the  site  of  Tinnoctitlan  the  Capital  of  the 
Ancient  Aztec  Empire;  among  the  ruins  of  the  temples  of  Chol- 
ula  and  those  of  the  great  temples  of  the  Sun  and  of  the  Moon; 
amid  the  ruins  of  the  palaces  of  the  ancient  Tezcucan  capital  and 
those  of  the  Royal  Summer  Palce  of  Quetzaltzinco. 

These  being  quite  beyond  my  reach,  I  turned  my  attention 
instead  to  what  I,  together  with  many  others,  believe  to  have 
been  the  site  of  the  central  or  principal  city  of  The  Seven  Cities 
of  the  Cibola :  situated  in  the  heart  of  New  Mexico,  in  the  center 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  29 

of  a  high  valley  some  forty  miles  long  by  as  many  broad,  mid- 
way between  the  river  Pecos  and  the  Rio  Grande,  but  not  easy  of 
access  from  either  because  of  the  mountains  that  hem  it  in — The 
Gallinas,  the  Trincheras,  the  Jaccarrillos,  the  Hills  of  the  Chup- 
padero  Mesa  and  the  foot  of  the  Manzanno  range. 

Here  my  research  became  actual  experience. 

What  today  adds  to  the  interest  of  the  ruins  of  La  Gran 
Quibira  is  the  fact  that  the  history  of  the  place  has  been  lost  to 
mortal  ken  not  once,  but  twice,  at  least. 

"The  ruins  themselves  proclaim  the  fact  that  where  the 
Spanish  army  of  the  sixteenth  century  failed,  the  Spanish 
Church  succeeded ;  that  the  discovery  denied  to  the  soldier  of  the 
sword,  was  granted  to  the  soldier  of  the  cross. 

The  precise  date  of  the  discovery  and  occupancy  of  La  Gran 
Quibira  by  that  community  of  Franciscan  Friars  who  settled 
there  is  not  known,  but  it  is  a  matter  of  history  that  they  were 
expelled  from  thence  at  the  time  of  the  great  Indian  Insurrec- 
tion of  1680. 

After  this  expulsion  the  very  location  of  the  place  again  was 
lost  until  discovered  some  fifty  years  or  so  ago  by  our  American 
Explorers,  Lewis  and  Clarke,  since  which  time  it  may  be  justly 
termed  the  Treasure  Trove  of  North  America. 

A  fatality  seemed  to  hang  over  the  place,  and  many  are  the 
lives  that  have  been  lost  in  a  vain  search  for  its  whereabouts.  It 
seemed  veiled  as  if  by  enchantment,  and  until  within  a  few  years 
past,  few  indeed  were  the  hands  permitted  to  raise  the  veil  and 
penetrate  to  its  secret  hiding  place,  and  none  as  yet  have  been 
permitted  to  touch  the  treasures  of  two  distinct  epochs  said  to 
be  buried  there. 

I  can  only  testify  to  my  own  experience  in  this  matter. 

From  the  hour  when  I  determined  upon  making  this  my 
point  of  search  for  the  lost  link  in  the  history  of  the  American 
Continent,  unforeseen  obstacles  arose  to  prevent  the  accomplish- 
ment of  my  self-imposed  task— obstacles  many  of  them  trivial  in 
themselves,  but  which,  when  combined,  formed  an  almost  insur- 
mountable barrier  to  my  further  investigation. 

Now  you  would  scarcely  credit  the  amount  of  hampering 
influence  to  hinder  the  progress  of  scientific  research,  that  may 
be  exerted  by  that  monstrosity  the  common  Mule— that  one  liv- 
ing creature  to  which  the  Devil  has  been  permitted  to  append 


30  LA   GRAN    QUIBIRA 

his  signature  and  affix  his  seal  as  its  creator— and  especially  the 
amount  that  may  be  exercised  by  the  species  known  as  the  Mule 
Mexicano. 

Three  distinct  sets  of  these  quadrupedal  infernal  machines 
were  employed  by  us,  with  lapses  of  time  between,  in  which  to 
recover  the  discomfiture  of  our  defeat,  when,  after  a  three  weeks 
journey  of  a  hundred  miles  or  so  we  came  within  sight  of  the 
wished-for  goal.  Here  half  way  up  the  hill  upon  which  the  ruins 
are  located,  our  "Mew-els"  called  an  unconditional  "Halt," 
and  well  knowing  that  it  would  be  in  vain  to  protest  or  to  argue 
the  point  we  obeyed  and  camped  forthwith. 

The  short  winter's  day  was  drawing  to  a  close  and  I  busied 
myself  with  preparing  sleeping  accommodations  for  the  night. 
I  suppose  I  must  have  expressed  the  wish  that  was  in  my  mind, 
aloud,  for  a  voice  near  at  hand  answered  me,  and,  looking  up,  I 
found  myself  face  to  face  with  a  Franciscan  Friar,  a  tall,  meager 
yet  muscular  man  whose  thin  dark  face,  wearing  that  bluish  pal- 
lor peculiar  to  those  who  fast  long  and  frequently,  was  shaded 
by  the  hood  of  his  grey  habit,  from  beneath  which  his  deep  set 
brilliant  eyes  shone  blue,  thoughtful  and  most  kindly  upon  me. 

'We  conversed  together  for  several  minutes,  I  telling  him 
frankly  of  a  new  theory  I  had  formed,  concerning  the  source  of 
the  reputed  great  wealth  of  that  ancient  community  of  his  own 
Order  who  had  inhabited  this  place  more  than  two  centuries  be- 
fore—a theory  I  had  based  upon  personal  observations  of  the 
topography  and  natural  resources  of  the  surrounding  country 
through  which  we  had  so  slowly  journeyed  to  reach  this  place. 

He  replied  by  a  question  which  served  to  confirm  me  in  the 
theory  I  had  formed. 

But  here  the  voice  of  a  third  person  calling  to  me  broke 
the  spell,  and  whew!  away  went  the  friar  and  with  him  all  my 
former  ideas  of  spirits,  goblins  and  spooks.  For  until  he  van- 
ished in  that  uncanny  way,  I  had  not  the  most  remote  idea  that 
I  was  hob-nobbing  with  the  ghost  of  one  who  had  lived  and 
walked  upon  this  ground  more  than  two  hundred  years  before, 
and  not  with  a  living  breathing  student  of  today  interested  in 
like  subjects  with  myself. 

Besides  surprise,  the  only  feeling  that  I  experienced  in  the 
matter  was  one  of  regret,  that  I  had  not  sooner  known,  and  so 


A  MUSICAL.  MYSTERY  31 

had  lost  this  most  favorable  opportunity  of  better  acquainting 
myself  with  some  of  the  peculiar  habits  of  ghosts  and  ghostesses. 
We  camped  for  several  weeks  after  this  among  the  ruins  on 
the  hill.  These  consist  of  the  ruins  of  the  great  church  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  long  by  fifty-two  broad,  which  many  peo- 
ple incorrectly  call  "A  Cathedral,"  and  those  of  an  adjoining 
monastery  which  is  supposed  to  have  originally  contained  more 
than  seventy  rooms  in  all,  including  both  large  and  small;  to- 
gether with  the  ruins  of  many  other  buildings  covering  several 
acres  of  ground,  no  correct  idea  of  which  can  now  be  formed  ex- 
cept as  to  extent  and  from  their  outline. 

Most  of  these  buildings  would  appear  to  have  been  erected 
at  a  more  remote  period  than  was  the  church  itself,  which  has 
given  rise  to  the  conclusion,  formed  by  many,  that  with  the  one 
exception  of  the  church,  the  Spaniards  did  not  build  the  place, 
but  merely  occupied  it  as  a  conquered  town. 

Others  however  contend  that  the  entire  place  was  founded 
by  this  Spanish  Church  community.  If  this  be  true,  then  the 
magnitude  of  the  ruins  decides  beyond  all  possibility  of  doubt 
the  much  disputed  question  as  to  the  poverty,  or  affluence  of  this 
Spanish  Church  community;  for  since  man  began  to  dwell  in 
houses  of  .his  own  construction,  these  houses  have  ever  cost  money 
or  money's  worth,  to  build,  and  the  size  and  solidity  of  those  of 
which  only  these  ruins  remain,  attest  to  the  vast  wealth  of  those 
who  builded  them. 

But,  since  we  may  infer  that  the  work  of  construction  was 
done  by  the  Aztecs  either  as  freemen  before  The  Conquest,  or  un- 
der compulsion,  as  slaves,  after  it,  then  one  can  but  wonder  why 
the  church,  that  vast  cruciform  structure  whose  walls  are  six 
feet  in  thickness,  should  have  been  built  of  ordinary  rubble  work 
and  not  of  the  cut  stone  which  appears  in  many  of  the  walls  of 
the  buildings,  believed  to  be  of  more  ancient  date,  and  especially 
in  those  of  thft  vaults  underneath,  and  ask  if  this  people  had  lost 
the  art  of  masonry  as  suddenly  as  they  seemed  to  have  done  that 
of  working  the  precious  stones  and  metals? 

Now  the  only  answer  that  I — and  common  sense — can  find  to 
this  conundrum,  forms  a  clue  to  the  mystery  which  envelops 
the  history  of  those  who  inhabited  this  place  prior  to  the  date 
of  The  Conquest, 


32  LA   GRAN    QUIBIRA 

"The  Aztecs  themselves,  as  they  tried  hard  to  make  their 
conquerors  understand,  never  possessed  in  any  degree  of  per- 
fection either  the  art  of  masonry,  or  that  of  working  the  precious 
stones  and  metals. 

Those  vast  pyramidal  structures  used  by  them  as  temples, 
their  gorgeous  palaces,  those  wonderful,  curiously  wrought  gems 
and  beautiful  gold  and  silver  ornaments  and  vessels,  were  theirs 
only  by  inheritance,  or  rather  by  right  of  discovery,  and  were 
the  work,  the  relics,  of  some  long  lost  race  belonging  to  some 
forgotten  age." 

"What  Race?    And  to  what  Age  did  it  belong?" 

The  answer  to  this  is  the  key  that  would  unlock  that  secret 
chamber  in  which  is  hidden  away  the  lost  archives  not  only  of 
this  portion  of  the  Globe  we  call  North  America,  but  also  of 
every  country  upon  its  face  in  whose  history  there  are  these  miss- 
ing links,  even  to  the  uttermost  corners  of  the  Earth;  the  key 
for  which  scientists  and  historians  have  sought  in  vain  for 
generations  past ;  the  key  which  a  messenger  from  Heaven  direct 
has  placed  in  this  right  hand  of  mine. 

"Who  were  these  People  and  to  what  Age  did  they  belong?" 

The  time  for  me  to  pronounce  the  one  word  which  forms  the 
"Open  Sesame"  to  the  door  that  now  bars  the  historic  from  the 
pre-historic  past,  is  not  yet  come. 

Subsequent  discoveries  of  subterranean  walls,  rooms  and 
passages,  miles  in  extent,  over  only  a  small  portion  of  which  the 
supposed  Spanish  town  was  built,  served  to  confirm  me  in  the 
theory  I  had  formed  concerning  the  source  of  the  reputed  great 
wealth  of  that  community  of  Franciscan  Friars,  who  were  driven 
from  this  place  at  the  time  of  the  great  Indian  Uprising  of  1680. 

It  is  my  belief  that  the  illimitable  wealth  ascribed  to  this 
Monastic  Brotherhood  was  no  myth,  but  solid  reality. 

The  underground  ruins,  with  their  small  cell-like  rooms  and 
short  arched  passages,  leading  into  a  large,  circular,  central 
chamber,  are  the  exact  counterparts  of  the  descriptions  of  the 
cities  of  the  dead  of  ancient  Egypt  and  the  Orient,  as  given  by 
Ebers,  and  other  authentic  writers,  from  actual  observation.  And 
I  have  no  hesitation  in  affirming  that  these  cunning  holy  Friars 
settled  themselves  here,  secure  from  molestation,  because  of  that 
superstition  of  the  Indians  which  held  sacred  the  persons  of  all 
those  who  took  refuge  upon  sacred  ground,  and  dwelt  peace- 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  33 

fully  here  within  the  very  precincts  of  Culhaucan,  their  sacred 
city  of  the  dead,  where  they  deliberately,  systematically  and  as 
may  be  supposed  at  first  at  least  secretly,  plundered  the  tombs 
filled  with  many  generations  of  a  people  whose  known  custom  it 
was  to  bury  with  their  dead  not  only  food,  drink  and  raiment, 
but  also  much  valuable  treasure  in  the  shape  of  wrought  and  un- 
wrought  gold,  silver  and  precious  stones,  which  they  placed  in 
jars  and  vases  themselves  almost  above  price  to  the  antiquarian 
of  that  date. 

That  this  was  the  source  of  their  wealth  is  proven  from  the 
fact  that  it  was  impossible  to  procure  any  such  wealth  at  that 
date,  or  indeed  at  any  subsequent  date,  from  any  known  natural 
resources  of  the  surrounding  country. 

The  surrounding  mountains,  it  is  true,  abound  in  mineral, 
but  it  is  for  the  most  part  a  refractory  ore  containing  so  great 
a  percentage  of  copper  that  even  at  this  advanced  age  of  pro- 
gress in  invention,  there  is  not  within  the  boundaries  of  the  Ter- 
ritory of  New  Mexico  any  machinery  capable  of  reducing  and 
separating  it.  And  it  is  my  opinion  that  had  all  the  ore  then 
mined,  that  has  since  been  mined,  or  that  still  remains,  in  these 
mountains  to  be  mined,  been  so  reduced  and  separated  it  would 
scarcely  have  equalled  the  immense  sum  said  to  have  been 
possessed  by  this  religious  fraternity  which  is  variously 
estimated  at  from  thirty-two  to  fifty  millions. 


It  is  a  notorious  fact  that  the  Americans  are  more  easily 
humbugged  than  almost  any  other  people.  It  has  even  been  as- 
serted that  we  are  a  nation  of  humbugs,  but  this,  in  the  name 
of  the  Nation,  I  deny.  And  the  bug  which  "hums"  most  ac- 
ceptably in  American  ears  is  the  "humbug"  we  call  "our  great 
mining  interests. ' ' 

This  "humbug"  has  been  known  to  create,  fluctuations, 
cause  panics,  even,  in  markets  to  which  it  seemed  in  no  degree  al- 
lied, and  some  of  us  have  even  attempted  to  make  it  the  means 
of  upsetting  the  monetary  equilibrium  of  the  country  itself. 

You  have  all  of  you,  I  dare  say,  heard  of  the  great  New 
Mexico  silver  mines,  where  from  three  to  seven  millions  worth 
of  ore  are  said  to  be  in  sight,  and  of  that  great  Colorado  gold 


34  LA   GRAN    QUIBIRA 

mine  whose  owner  is  said  to  have  refused  for  it  twelve  millions 
in  cash,  because  he  declared  that  he  had  more  than  that  amount 
upon  the  dump. 

Now,  when  I  reflect  that  at  the  average  rate  of  sixteen  dol- 
lars an  ounce,  for  pure  gold,  it  would  require  almost  three  tons,— 
that  is  to  say  a  nugget  of  solid  refined  gold  weighing  nearly  six 
thousand  pounds — to  be  worth  one  million  of  our  American  silver 
dollars,  then,  when  I  hear  these  and  stories  of  like  import,  I  am 
ready  to  bet  you  "sixteen  to  one"  there  is  nothing  in  them;  that 
they  are  all  mere  "humbug." 


That  this  was  the  source  of  their  wealth  is  further  proven 
from  the  fact  that  these  underground  ruins  have  been  filled  with 
a  cement  of  no  known  natural  production.  In  one  room  or  pass- 
age it  will  appear  of  spotless  white,  while  a  second  immediately 
connected  with  it  will  be  filled  with  a  mixture  of  bright  red  clay, 
and  in  a  third  the  cement  resembles  nothing  so  much  as  a  light 
brown  sugar,  while  others  still  are  filled  simply  with  earth  and 
rock,  and  from  the  fact  that  the  entire  hill  surrounding  these 
Spanish  church  ruins,  both  within  and  without  what  may  be 
looked  upon  as  consecrated  ground,  presents  one  solid  mass  of 
skeletons, — the  bones  of  tens,  yea  hundreds  of  thousands  of  hu- 
man beings,  and  this  in  a  locality  where  no  record  of  the  past 
admits  that  any  such  vast  population  of  the  living  ever  dwelt. 

These  skeletons  are  without  doubt  the  remains  of  the  bodies 
removed  by  the  plundering  priests  from  these  numberless  tombs. 


A  curious  custom  seems  to  have  existed,  at  that  date,  of 
burying  their  dead  of  different  ages  in  different  places; 
that  is  to  say,  the  aged  or  adults  in  one  vault  or  pit,  while 
the  youths  were  placed  in  one  apart,  and  a  third  would  be  filled 
entirely  with  the  bodies  of  small  children. 

The  opening  of  one  of  these  common  graves  filled  with  the 
skeletons  of  those  who  had  arrived  at  maturity  but  had  not  yet 
attained  to  the  full  height  of  man  or  woman,  has  without  doubt 
given  rise  to  the  mistaken  idea  which  prevails,  that  the  Aborig- 
ines of  North  America  were  a  race  almost  of  pygmies.  They  were, 


A  MUSICAL   MYSTERY  35 

in  fact,  of  very  large  proportions,  always  above,  never  below,  the 
average  stature  of  the  American  of  today. 
#     #     # 

When  or  how  the  craze  for  exhuming  and  possessing  himself 
of  the  bones  of  those  of  his  own  species  of  a  by-gone  generation, 
first  beset  man,  it  is  impossible  to  determine,  but  the  mania  has 
become  epidemic. 

I  had  scarcely  set  foot  among  these  ruins  when  a  Colorado 
shepherd,  rising  by  the  aid  of  his  crook  from  one  of  these  sepul- 
chral pits,  presented  me,  as  a  mark  of  delicate  attention  no 
doubt,  with  a  small  jaw  bone  perfect  in  shape  and  preservation, 
filled  with  small  pearly  teeth  which  had  without  doubt  belonged 
to  some  Indian  maiden  of  the  "long-long-ago,"  together  with 
a  pair  of  cross  bones. 

These  I  carried  about  with  me  all  day,  resolving  to  make 
them  the  nucleus  of  a  collection  of  like  trophies  of  La  Gran 
Quibira. 

Then  a  curious  fancy  took  possession  of  me.  I  thought  that 
when  the  day  of  judgment  came,  these  "remains"  might  wish  to 
be  "all  there"  and  how  decidedly  uncomfortable  it  would  be  for 
me  to  be  surrounded  by  a  host  of  incomplete  diaphragms,  each 
clamoring  for  that  part  of  his  or  her  anatomy  of  which  I  had 
possessed  myself. 

Ugh!  I  can  hear  it  yet,  the  "Song  of  the  Bones"  as  sung 
in  melancholy  tones  with  sighs  and  moans  and  dismal  groans : 

' '  Oh,  give  me  my  bones,  my  BONES  !  MY  BONES  !  " 

I  hastened  to  rid  myself  of  those  in  my  possession,  trusting 
that  when  the  last  trump  sounded  they  might  be  able  to  find  the 
"rest  of  themselves"  by  some  such  hocus-pocus  as  is  said  to  be 
exerted  by  the  non-rheumatic  joint  snake,  and  endeavored  there- 
after to  protect  all  those  buried  on  the  hill. 

I  used  arguments,  entreaties,  persuasions,  threats,  all  to  no 
purpose.  The  bowels  of  the  average  tourist,  traveler,  or  mining 
prospector,  whether  he  write  himself  "Professor"  "Doctor" 
plain  "Mr."  "Jack"  or  "Jo,"  yearns  for  and  will  be  satisfied 
with  nothing  but  human  bones. 

The  apology  offered  for  this  strange  ghoul-like  appetite  is 
often  unique.  One  young  gentleman  declared  that  he  did  not 
wish  them  for  himself,  but  that  he  thought  they  would  make  such 
a  nice  present  for  a  young  lady  friend. 


36  LA   GRAN    QUIBIRA 

(A  human  skeleton— a  "nice  present  for  a  young  lady 
friend!") 

Most  of  them,  however,  say  that  they  wish  them  for  scien- 
tific purposes,  which  "scientific  purpose"  usually  proves  to  be 
that  they  want  to  carry  them  to  be  inspected  by  their  village 
doctor,  who  after  gravely  examining  the  humps  and  bumps  of 
the  skull  (the  favorite  trophy  of  the  bone-collector)  wisely  gives 
it  as  his  opinion  that  it  belonged  to  a  man  of  ' '  education  and  cul- 
ture," (without,  doubt  a  physician.). 

But  we  are  all  of  us  prone  to  talk  "shop"  and  it  is  related  of 
one  of  these  professional  gentlemen,  whose  habit  it  is  to  prowl 
about  these  ruins,  and  who  is  known  to  possess  the  learning  and 
culture  he  ascribes  to  these  other  "  numb-skulls ;"  that,  upon  being 
presented  with  one  of  two  small  crucibles  said  to  have  been 
found  among  these  ruins,  he  declared  that  he  knew  what  they 
were :  ' '  They  were  wine  cups  used  by  the  medicine  men  of  old 
for  measuring  out  their  potions." 

*     *     * 

But  the  song  of  the  bones  is  not  the  only  music  to  be  heard 
in  this  strange  place,  which  presents  the  very  "abomination  of 
desolation,"  inhabited  as  it  usually  is  solely  by  the  gophers, 
whose  innumerable  burrows  in  the  sands  of  the  hillside  form  so 
many  traps  for  the  feet  of  the  unwary  pedestrian.  What  they 
go  for  into  the  depths  of  the  sand,  I  do  not  know.  Perhaps  they 
go  for  water  but  it  may  be  they  "Gopher"  bones. 


I  was  awakened  some  time  during  the  first  night  of  our  stay 
among  the  ruins,  by  the  ringing  of  a  chime  of  bells.  This  sounded 
thrice,  then  ensued  the  soft  weirdly  plaintive  music  of  an  aeolian 
harp.  Not  then,  nor  ever  after  being  able  to  determine  the  loca- 
tion or  origin  of  this  mystic  music,  I  could  but  conclude  that  in 
some  one  of  the  vaults  beneath  us  which  had  not  like  the  rest 
been  sealed  hermetically,  some  devotee  of  the  art  of  hundreds 
of  years  before,  had  caused  to  be  constructed  one  of  these  quaint 
air  harps,  which  swept  continually  by  the  wind,  which  never 
ceases  blowing  in  this  locality,  kept  up  a  never  ending  accompan- 
iment to  the  "Rattling  of  his  bones,  bones,  bones." 

Then  succeeded  another  kind  of  music  which  I  supposed  to 
have  been  made  by  the  herder  of  some  neighboring  sheep  camp, 
playing  upon  the  French  harp  or  mouth  organ,  a  musical  in- 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  37 

strument  of  which  they  are  particularly  fond  and  one  of  which 
they  almost  invariably  carry  with  them.  I  do  affirm  that  this 
sound  continued  for  two  successive  days  and  nights,  before  it  be- 
gan to  dawn  upon  my  mind  that  nothing  human,  not  even  an  of- 
fice seeking  politician  nor  a  modern  drummer,  was  possessed  of 
wind  enough  to  work  the  machine  for  so  long  a  time  without  stop- 
ping. 

These  two  kinds  of  music  were  followed  and  accompanied  by 
many  others,  each  distinct  and  separate  in  itself,  which  I  can  best 
describe  as  being  "just  within  hearing"  seldom  rising  to  a  higher 
pitch  or  softening  to  a  lower,  yet  no  storm  so  violent  as  to  be 
able  to  deaden  or  drown  these  continuous,  evervarying  sounds; 
for  upon  such  nights,  especially,  as  Burns  avers,  "A  child  might 
understand  the  De  'il  had  business  on  his  hand, ' '  they  were  most 
distinguishable.  Above  the  sound  of  the  howling,  rushing  wind, 
the  driving,  pelting  rain,  clear  and  distinct  came  the  sound  of 
the  trumpet's  call,  and  that  of  myriads  of  hurrying  footsteps  as 
of  crowds  assembling,  each  accompanied  by  its  own  distinctive 
band  of  music, — bands  of  brass,  as  in  our  own  day;  bands  com- 
posed of  instruments,  many  of  which  were  quite  unknown  to  me ; 
choirs  of  voices,  both  male  and  female;  the  chanting  of  the 
priests;  the  clanging  of  the  bells;  and  occasionally  breaking 
through  all,  a  wail  or  shriek  as  of  souls  in  agony. 

I  could  not  even  then  dispossess  myself  of  the  belief  that 
this  was  the  wailing  of  the  damned,  and  that  all  these  other 
sounds  were  meant  to  drown  that  terrible  one. 

If  you  have  ever  heard  that  odd  descriptive  musical  composi- 
tion called  "The  Thunder  Storm,"  wherein  a  simple  melody 
played  upon  the  shepherd's  pipes,  is  plainly  heard  above,  or 
rather  through,  the  sound  of  the  rising  wind,  the  falling  rain, 
the  crash  of  thunder,  and  the  clash  of  the  fire-alarm  bells,  you 
will  understand  perfectly  the  phenomenon  which  I  have  at- 
tempted to  describe ;  but,  instead  of  one  air  played  upon  one  in- 
strument, there  were  many  going  on  all  at  once,  yet  never  seem- 
ing in  the  least  degree  to  interfere  the  one  with  the  other. 

The  composition  of  this  mysterious  music  was  extremely 
crude — a  simple  melody,  formed  by  ringing  the  changes  upon  a 
few  notes,  mostly  in  a  minor  key,  but  which  acquired  a  certain 
degree  of  grandeur  from  the  number  of  instruments,  or 


38  LA   GRAN    QUIBIRA 

voices  by  which  it  was  rendered,  and  from  the  fact  that  it  was 
always  expressed  in  full  chords. 

A  strange  experience  this,  for  those  who  had  been  taught 
not  only  to  disbelieve,  but  to  abhor  as  an  invention  of  the  foul 
fiend  himself,  the  doctrines  of  spiritualism. 

Nor  did  our  experience  end  here. 


The  water  supply  giving  out,  we  made  our  way  across  the 
country  to  an  unexhausted  reservoir  near  the  foot  of  the  Gallinas 
Mountains.  This  distance  of  about  seventeen  miles  was  gallantly 
accomplished  by  our  "mew-els"  in  the  course  of  three  whole 
days. 

Along  the  route  we  beheld  myriads  of  shadowy,  indistinct 
figures,  all  apparently  journeying  in  the  same  direction  as  our- 
selves, some  with  firm  elastic  tread,  others  lagging  as  if  weary 
from  a  long  journey.  But  once  we  seemed  to  meet  a  herald,  pre- 
ceded by  trumpeters,  who  was  reading  a  proclamation  or  sum- 
mons which  ended  in  a  long  roll-call. 

Now  of  all  this,  only  the  sound  and  not  the  sense  was  ap- 
parent to  us,  for,  during  all  this  time,  I  heard  but  one  articulate 
word.  Throughout  an  entire  day,  evidently  from  beneath  the 
ground  over  which  we  traveled,  there  came  up  the  sound  as  of 
many  voices  crying  continually:  "Hytanna.  Hytanna.  Hytanna." 

I  was  filled,  not  with  fear,  but  with  wonder  and  with  cur- 
iosity. I  knew  that  I  was  witnessing  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead  called  up  for  judgment;  that  time  typified  by  the  forty 
days  Christ  walked  the  earth  between  His  Resurrection  and  His 
Ascension — a  resurrection  and  a  judgment  that  is  going  on 
about  us  all  the  time,  unseen,  unheard,  by  the  many. 

These  were  spirits,  neither  of  Heaven  nor  of  Hell,  but 
merely  of  the  earth,  which  accounts  for  the  very  unsatisfactory 
answers  they  make  to  those  living  mortals,  known  as  "Spiritual 
mediums,"  who  claim  to  have  the  power  of  conversing  with 
them.  For,  except  to  describe  their  own  death  agony  and  their 
whereabouts  and  occupation  during  this  period  of  probation, 
they  are  quite  as  ignorant  as  ourselves ;  and  certainly  of  life  in 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  39 

any  sphere  save  this,  nor  do  I  believe  that  living  mortal  has 

the  power  to  recall  them  when  once  they  have  left  it  for  another. 

*     #     # 

Arrived  at  the  reservoir,  we  went  into  camp  a  few  hundred 
yards  to  the  east  of  the  pool,  in  the  midst  of  a  thicket  of  cedars 
and  pines  which  hid  the  water  itself  from  our  view. 

Here  for  three  whole  days  I  diligently  exercised  my  female 
prerogative  and  "Baked  and  brewed  and  broiled  and  stewed" 
without  ceasing,  varying  the  monotony  by  joining  my  voice  to 
one  or  other  of  the  spirit  choruses,  as  fancy  dictated,  wondering 
all  the  time  why  they  were  so  commonplace,  with  nothing  of  the 
awesome  or  supernatural  about  them. 

The  night  of  the  third  day  was  bitterly  cold  and  we  retired 
very  early  to  sleep  in  the  wagon.  Beside  the  intense  cold  there 
was  nothing  remarkable  in  the  night  except  its  preternatural 
stillness.  Even  the  customary  night  sounds,  the  scream  of  the 
eagle,  the  hoot  of  the  owl,  the  howl  of  the  wolf,  and  the  bark  of 
the  coyote,  were  hushed. 

Then  came  the  sound  I  long  had  wished  to  hear,  the  sound 
of  heavenly  music — no  sustained  melody,  but  broken  chords 
formed  by  the  sweeping  of  a  practised  hand  over  golden  harp- 
strings. 

I  sprang  up  and  out  of  the  wagon,  in  a  fever  of  triumphant 
expectation,  but  was  checked  at  the  very  first  step  by  the  biting 
cold,  which  seemed  to  freeze  the  blood  in  my  veins,  the  marrow  in 
my  bones.  I  was  so  chilled  by  it  as  to  be  scarcely  able  to  regain 
the  warm  shelter  I  had  left.  There  I  wept  in  bitter  disappoint- 
ment and  vexation.  It  was  some  time  before  I  regained  sufficient 
presence  of  mind  to  attempt  to  gain  through  my  hearing  that 
which  was  denied  to  my  sight— some  idea  of  the  Mystery  that 
was  being  enacted  at  the  waterside. 

First  came  the  sounding  of  the  heavenly  harps  as  a  sum- 
mons or  call ;  then  one  or  other  of  the  spirit  bands  marched  for- 
ward, each  preceded  by  its  own  distinctive  kind  of  music ;  then 
came  a  few  sentences,  pronounced  in  a  stern  resonant  voice, 
deeper,  richer,  more  powerful  than  any  human  voice  I  had  ever 
heard.  This  I  took  to  be  The  Arraignment.  Then  there  followed 
the  sound  of  another  voice  reading  what  was  probably  The  Ac- 
cusation or  Indictment.  Then  one  or  other  stepped  forward  as 


40  LA   GRAN    QUIBIRA 

spokesman  for  the  entire  spirit  band,  pleading  the  cause  of  all; 
some  in  tones  of  arrogant  assurance,  as  if  confident  of  success; 
others  meekly,  humbly,  falteringly.  .  .  . 

Solemn  as  was  The  Mystery,  I  could  not  for  the  life  of  me, 
help  thinking  of  the  story  of  the  colored  preacher,  who,  after 
death,  presented  himself  confidently  at  the  gates  of  Heaven, 
shouting  loudly: 

"Open  de  gates  dar  'Postie  Petah. 
Brow  de  trumpets  loud  and  long, 
Fo'  he'  a  brudder  Saint  am  comin' 
I's  de  Rebren  Quacko  Strong!" 

Finding  his  demand  unheeded  he  made  his  plea  successively 
as  "exhortah,"  ''class  leadah,"  "chu'ch  membah,"  and  (it  may 
be)  "Chief  of  the  Flambeau  Club." 

Finally  the  gates  were  grudgingly  opened,  just  far  enough 
to  permit  him  to  squeeze  through,  not,  however,  without  leaving 
a  handful  of  his  wool  in  the  grasp  of  Old  Nick,  who  waited  out- 
side, after  an  humble  petition  as  "  A  Mise-ble  Sinnah — name  ob 
Strong."  .  .  .  And  I  myself  gauged  their  chances  of  suc- 
cess, accordingly. 

Then  again  the  harps  were  sounded  and  a  hush  fell  over  all, 
while  the  stern  voice  of  the  judge  pronounced  sentence.  This 
was  repeated  several  times  until  a  number  of  bands,  tribes  or 
families  had  been  judged. 

Then  came  the  separating  of  the  chosen  from  the  condemned, 
amid  a  crash  of  all  the  bands  of  music  and  choirs  of  voices  com- 
bined. The  entire  volume  of  sound,  however,  was  not  sufficient 
to  drown  the  wailing  of  the  doomed,  which  ever  and  anon  broke 
through  in  a  blood-curdling  shriek  which  almost  made  me  scream 
aloud  in  chorus,  for  the  very  horror  of  the  sound. 

Then  again  the  harps  were  sounded,  and  this  was  followed 
by  the  "sound  as  of  a  mighty  rushing  wind"  or  as  of  many  birds 
in  flight,  which  cut  the  stillness  of  the  air  as  it  swept  past  and 
beyond  us. 

This  I  took  to  be  the  first  blast  of  a  coming  storm,  and  waited 
and  listened.  No  other  followed,  but  the  same  strange  hush  fell 
upon  all  Nature. 

Then  came  a  repetition,  with  some  variations,  of  the  scene 
that  had  before  been  enacted.  This  time  when  I  heard  the  sound 
as  of  the  rushing  winds,  a  light  broke  in  upon  me  and  I  arose  and 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  41 

looked  hastily  out;  but,  except  for  a  far  off,  luminous  cloud 
which  vanished  even  as  I  gazed,  there  was  no  change  in  the  frozen 
stillness  of  the  moonlit  scene. 

Gladly  I  heard  the  second  repetition  of  the  scene  com- 
mence; then,  when  came  the  separating  of  the  chosen  from  the 
danmed,  I  arose  and  stole  silently  to  the  opening,  and  when 
came  again  the  sound  as  of  the  rushing  winds  I  looked  hurriedly 
out,  just  in  time  to  witness  the  third  and  for  this  time,  the  last 
ascension. 

A  luminous  golden  car  was  sweeping  past  and  above  us  to- 
ward the  eastern  heavens,  drawn  and  supported  upon  either 
side  by  beautiful  winged  female  figures.  The  car  itself  was  piled 
up  with  what  seemed  to  be  snowy,  fleecy,  cloudlets,  upon  which 
a  glory,  as  of  full  sunlight,  rested. 

Beside  the  car,  his  right  hand  resting  upon  it  and  apparently 
impelled  by  the  same  force,  since  his  own  wings  were  folded,  was 
the  figure  of  an  archangel,  evidently  that  of  the  great  Judge 
himself. 

His  form,  clad  in  a  simple  white  garment  girded  at  the  waist 
by  a  cord,  was  grand  and  majestic.  The  figure  of  man  enlarged 
and  glorified.  His  mass  of  golden  hair  was  cut  square  upon  his 
forehead  and  again  upon  his  neck;  his  brow  was  broad,  massive 
and  stern ;  his  eyes,  a  deep  intense  blue,  fixed  as  in  rapt  atten- 
tion upon  some  far  off  point  in  the  heavens,  were  steadfast  and 
searching  in  their  gaze.  The  stern  severity  of  his  features,  how- 
ever, was  softened  somewhat  by  the  expression  of  infinite  sweet- 
ness and  tenderness  that  played  about  his  mouth. 

His  left  hand  was  toying  with  something  at  his  girdle.  Now 
whether  this  was  a  tassel,  or  a  key,  I  was  trying  to  make  out, 
when  the  shrill  notes  of  a  parrot  close  at  hand  gave  the  alarm  by 
screaming  suddenly:  "Somebody's  looking." 

I  gasped  in  terror.  There  was  a  merry  laugh,  like  a  chime 
of  golden  bells,  from  the  beautiful  winged  females  who  impelled 
the  car;  a  quick  sign  from  the  archangel  for  them  to  redouble 
their  speed,  then  he  looked  down  upon  me.  I  expected  nothing 
short  of  total  annihilation  because  of  my  curiosity  and  temerity, 
but  he  only  smiled  an  amused,  indulgent  smile. 

But  before  I  could  recover  the  fright  of  my  detection  and 
sudden  exposure,  the  clouds  had  parted  and  they  had  passed 
through  the  gateway  thus  formed,  into  the  clear  radiance  be- 


42  LA   GRAN    QUIBIRA 

yond;  and  before  I  could  recover  voice  sufficient  to  question  of 
the  archangel:  "Art  Gabriel,  Izrafil  or  Another?  Explain,  oh 
explain  to  me  the  great  mystery  which  has  been  enacted  here," 
they  were  gone  and  I  was  left  alone. 

Alone  with  the  sound  of  the  many  bands  of  music  of  those 
poor  unfortunates  who,  like  me,  had  been  left  behind.  » 

Alone  with  the  sound  of  the  never-ending  monologue  of  him 
who  had  pleaded  last,  and  pleaded  in  vain  for  himself  and  his 
people  against  that  stern  decree  which  bade  them  "Walk  the 
earth  for  yet  a  longer  period. ' ' 

Alone  with  the  customary  night  sounds  resumed,  the  scream 
of  the  eagle,  the  hoot  of  the  owl,  the  howl  of  the  wolf  and  the 

bark  of  the  coyote. 

*  *     * 

More  curious  than  ever  we  returned  to  La  Gran  Quibira  in 
the  hope  that  we  might  be  able  to  solve  the  mystery  there,  where 
the  first  clue  had  been  given  us. 

It  was  a  well-known  custom  of  those  who  are  supposed  to 
have  founded  this  place,  to  bestow  upon  both  individuals  and 
places  a  name  having  a  meaning  derived  from  some  peculiarity  or 
action.  Now  I  never  could  discover  any  meaning  to  the  name 
Quibira.  Whenever  I  questioned  either  Mexican  or  Indian  upon 
the  point,  they  answered  me  with  their  invariable  ' '  Quien  sabe. ' ' 
I  am  aware  that  it  is  a  most  delicate  matter  to  perpetrate  a  pun 
in  an  unknown  language,  yet  I  ventured  upon  christening  the 
place  "The  Quien  Sale  Muy  Grande." 

It  is  my  opinion,  however,  that  the  present  orthography  of 
the  word  is  due  to  the  necessity  we  of  this  historic  age  have  of 
spelling  these  ancient  names  "by  ear,"  and  that  in  reference  to 
the  subterranean  ruins  I  have  described  and  to  the  cliff  dwell- 
ings which  were  also  discovered  at  that  date,  all  were  so  frequent- 
ly referred  to  as  the  relics  of  the  great  Cave  Era  as  to  be  finally 
abbreviated  into  simple  Quibira.  (Pronounced  Kee-vee-ra,  or 

Cavera.) 

*  *     * 

I  had  lost  my  interest  in  the  embodied  spirits  about  me,  ex- 
cept to  wonder  in  what  manner  the  earthly  clay  was  cast  off, 
with  the  exception  of  him  who  dared  to  contest  the  verdict  ren- 
dered against  him  and  who  could  still  be  heard  loudly  to  murmur 
and  complain. 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  43 

' '  Was  this  Satan, ' '  I  asked,  ' '  giving  vent  to  his  anger  at  the 
number  of  human  souls  who  had  eluded  his  dread  grasp?  Or 
was  it  some  prophet  of  old,  who,  intentionally  or  not,  had  mis- 
led multitudes  to  their  own  undoing?"  And  with  this  question, 
the  revelation  came,  and  I  cried  aloud  in  an  agony  of  remorse 
and  shame:  "Lord  God  of  Israel.  Why,  it  is  Jesus  of  Nazereth 
who  passeth  by." 

But  I  never  ceased  to  question  and  to  wonder  in  what  new 
world,  and  under  what  new  conditions,  the  disembodied  souls  I 
had  seen  borne  upward  had  entered  upon  their  new  existence.  It 
seemed  significant  to  me  that  at  the  precise  point  of  their  disap- 
pearance the  sun  arose  next  morning,  but  this  was  not  a  definite 
answer  to  my  queries. 

#     *     # 

Returned  to  La  Gran  Quibira,  I  was  granted  visions  both 
waking  and  sleeping.  I  will  relate  to  you  only  one  of  my  waking 
visions. 

A  small  spring  of  water  had  been  uncovered  near  the  foot 
of  La  Gran  Quibira  Hill.  I  had  claimed  the  privilege  of  naming 
it,  and  had  christened  it:  "Living  Waters." 

Some  time  after  this,  being  unable  to  sleep,  I  got  up  and 
went  out  into  the  night.  Chancing  to  turn  my  head  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  spring,  the  distance  which  separated  me  from  it — 
fully  a  mile  and  a  half— seemed  suddenly  annihilated  and  I 
found  myself  upon  the  outskirts  of  a  vast  multitude  of  shadowy 
forms,  all  crowding  toward  the  water.  Each  held  an  empty  oya, 
or  water  jar,  of  greater  or  smaller  dimensions— all  sorts  and 
conditions  of  jars.  I  noticed  one  of  exquisite  beauty  of  shape  and 
design,  semi-transparent  and  colored  with  most  delicate  tints  of 
green. 

"Oh,  how  beautiful,"  I  cried,  "Do  give  it  to  me,"  and  the 
bright-faced  Indian  woman  who  carried  it  presented  it  to  me 
writh  a  smile. 

As  I  took  it,  I  saw,  poised  in  midair  above  the  spring,  a 
figure  grand  and  majestic  as  was  that  of  the  archangel  whom  I 
had  beheld  at  the  scene  of  the  ascension,  but  habited  in  sweeping 
robes  of  somber  black,  with  wings  black  as  a  raven's  and  shrouded 
from  head  to  foot  in  a  thick  veil.  Now  whether  this  was  the 
figure  of  a  male  or  of  a  female  I  could  not  determine  until  a  hand 


44  LA   GRAN    QUIBIRA 

swept  back  the  heavy  folds  of  the  veil,  disclosing  a  woman's  face 
of  rare  yet  unearthly  beauty. 

Remembering  the  stern  severity  of  that  other  face,  and  con- 
trasting it  with  the  sad  yet  sweet  serenity  of  that  upon  which  I 
gazed  entranced,  I  said:  "What  wonder  men  love  darkness  rather 
than  light." 

But  with  a  gesture  as  of  possession  toward  the  waters  of  th? 
spring,  the  figure  bent  its  somber  gaze  full  upon  me  and  ad- 
dressed me  thus:  "Thou  hast  named  them  and  rightly  'Living 
Waters;'  yet  are  they  the  'Waters  of  Death.'  ' 

In  surprise  I  cried:  "Then  death  is  not  the  grim  and  ter- 
rible monster  we  have  been  led  to  believe,  but  a  solemn,  beauti- 
ful mystery  whom  none  need  fear  to  meet. ' ' 

"I  know  thee,  Lilith,  mother  of  sin,  harbinger  of  death, 
thou,  thyself,  art  death." 

She  bowed  and  smiled  assent,  then  vanished  with  the  rest  of 
the  scene,  and  with  a  shock  I  found  myself  back  again  at  the 
doorway  of  my  tent,  with  yet  more  food  for  reflection  and  for 
speculation. 

Now  if  this  had  been  the  only  food  required  to  support  ex- 
istence, I  should  have  remained  upon  this  enchanted  ground  until 
I  had  dispelled  the  enchantment  and  solved  the  mystery;  but  I 
am  unhappily  so  constituted  as  to  require  more  substantial  nour- 
ishment than  mere  air. 

#     #     # 

There  are  those  who  rise  above  the  titular  dignitaries  of  the 
earth.  These  are  they  who  are  endowed  by  Heaven  itself  with  a 
mission.  I  had  hoped  that  I  was  one  of  the  chosen  few,  and  that 
my  mission  was  not  only  to  supply  that  missing  link  which  would 
connect  the  history  of  the  present  with  that  of  the  past,  but  that 
I  was  also  specially  ordained  to  discover  those  which  would  con- 
nect both  past  and  present  with  the  future. 

But  being  possessed  of  all  the  requirements  common  to  mor- 
tals, and  left  here  without  the  means  of  supplying  them,  I  was 
forced  to  wonder  if  instead  I  had  but  tasted  of  "forbidden 
fruit."  If  so,  I  determined  upon  making  Eve's  answer  to  her 
liege  lord,  wrhen  reproached  for  having  eaten  of  the  forbidden 
apple,  my  own,  and  say:  "I  have  eaten.  I  possess  the  know- 
ledge and  I  feel  within  myself  the  power  to  master  all  that  is 
still  hidden  from  me.  Therefore  I  do  not  care  Adam."  (A  damn.) 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  45 

(And  this  laudable  thirst  for  information  both  upon  the 
part  of  Eve  and  of  myself,  is  what  men  call  "Female  curios- 
ity.") 

So  I  left,  in  the  belief  that  of  all  those  who  profess  interest 
in  like  pursuits — in  discovery  and  scientific  research — I  had  but 
to  ask,  to  receive  the  help  I  required  to  return  to  the  work  of  un- 
raveling this  great  mystery. 

But  I  found  that  there  is  nothing  so  "sham"  as  the  sham 
scientist.  Whenever  I  broached  this  subject  to  any  of  these  great 
personages,  I  seemed  but  to  institute  a  game  of  cross-purposes 
reminding  me  of  a  game  we  played  as  children  called  "Cross- 
Questions  and  Crooked  Answers." 

I  first  applied  to  one,  high  in  repute  in  such  matters.  But 
lo!  here  I  trod  upon  antiquarian  toes  and  elicited  only  a  howl 
of  pain,  or  it  may  be  of  fear,  lest  I  further  poach  upon  what  he 
chose  to  consider  as  his  "preserves."  This  great  personage  dis- 
played to  my  wondering  gaze  a  large  collection  of  what  he  called 
"Indian  Idols" — rounded  discs  of  stone  with  three  holes  drilled 
in  their  surfaces  at  irregular  intervals.  Rejoice  with  me,  oh 
Christian  friends,  that  the  worship  of  these  in  no  wise  imperiled 
the  souls  of  those  poor  creatures  who  are  said  to  have  bowed 
down  before  them,  since  they  resembled  nothing  ' '  In  the  heavens 
above,  the  earth  beneath  nor  in  the  waters  under  the  earth. ' ' 

I  then  called  upon  a  high  dignitary  of  the  Catholic  Church, 
believing  that  he  would  be  interested  in  helping  to  preserve  the 
ruins  of  this  place  founded  by,  and  in  searching  for  further 
relics  of,  that  ancient  community  of  his  own  faith. 

His  reply  was:  "We  can  only  help  the  living;  we  can  do 
nothing  for  the  dead. ' ' 

I  failed  to  see  the  application  to  the  case  in  point,  but 
dropped  the  suoject  without  further  comment. 

I  next  applied  to  one  high  in  civic  authority.  I  did  not  re- 
late to  him  all  of  my  strange  experiences  upon  this  ground,  but 
asked  his  assistance  in  devoloping  the  natural  resources  of  the 
surrounding  country;  in  helping  to  preserve  these  great  and  in- 
teresting ruins  from  total  destruction  at  the  hands  of  the  insati- 
able treasure-hunter  and  bone  collector,  and  in  searching  for  fur- 
ther relics  and  for  the  records  said  to  have  been  left  behind  by 
the  Franciscans  in  their  forced  and  hurried  flight. 


46  LA   GRAN   QUIBIKA 

He  refused,  saying:  ''I  am  a  materialist."  (Self-confessed, 
a  body  without  a  soul.) 

I  felt  that  I  was  alone  in  the  genuine  unselfish  desire  to 
probe  this  great  mystery  to  its  very  heart,  and  to  give  to  my  own 
generation  the  glory  of  having  solved  it. 

Yet  no  person  or  circumstance,  however  trivial,  but  what 
seemed  able  to  exert  a  restraining  influence  upon  my  will  and 
actions. 

As  time  went  on  in  unavailing  efforts  to  secure  the  aid  I  so 
much  required  to  return  to  this  great  work,  I  grew  despondent. 
I  will  not  deny  that  at  this  time  I  thought  frequently  of  the  al- 
luring image  of  death  as  it  had  appeared  to  me. 

But  oft-times  the  victims  of  the  greatest  human  injustice  are 
made  the  special  objects  of  Divine  favor.  And  so  it  was  with 
me.  In  the  hour  of  my  darkest  disappointment  and  despair  at 
ever  being  able  to  resume  my  work,  a  revelation  was  sent  me  from 
Heaven.  The  veil  of  the  mysterious  past  was  lifted  for  me  and 
its  lost  history  unrolled  as  a  scroll  before  my  eyes. 


Oh,  ye  archaeologists  who  strain  at  historic  gnats  yet  swal- 
low non-historic  camels — that  is  to  say  who  reject  small  truths 
yet  greedily  devour  great  falsehoods — begin  not  as  ye  all  have 
begun  and  indeed  as  I  began,  at  the  wrong  end  of  this  broken 
chain  to  attempt  to  mend  it  by  supplying  its  missing  links,  but 
go  back  to  first  principles  in  all  things. 

I  will  not  ask  you  to  go  back  of  that  date  of  which  ye  claim 
ye  have  certain  record— that  of  the  Creation  as  given  in  the 
scriptures — and  view  the  earth  with  me  as  it  then  appeared  after 
it  had  been  populated,  depopulated,  reconstructed  and  repop- 
ulated  by  as  many  sizes  and  colors  or  races  of  men  formed— can 
you  doubt  it — in  the  image  of  as  many  successive  creative  gods. — 
The  earth,  which  had  been  desolated  and  had  its  every  feature 
changed  as  many  times  as  there  are  destructive  elements. 

This  portion  of  the  revelation  I  will  seal  up  unto  myself  for 
my  own  perusal  and  gratification.  But  I  will  respect  that  nar- 
row-minded prejudice  of  yours,  which  leads  you  to  pin  your  faith 
to  the  traditions  of  the  Hebrews  rather  than  to  those  of  any  other 
people,  and  will  assume  the  earth  to  have  been  created  as  ac- 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  47 

cording  to  those  traditions,  and  as  according  to  them,  populated 
by  the  Caucasian  race. 

Then  from  this  the  date  of  the  creation  to  that  of  the  deluge 
behold  the  earth.  .  .  . 

But  here  a  voice,  not  of  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  but  of  the 
demon  of  policy,  commands  me  and  says: 

' '  Seal  up  this  portion  of  the  revelation  also.  For  a  time  and 
yet  a  time  until  such  a  time  as  the  local  demand  for  its  produc- 
tion creates  for  it  a  market  value  equal  to  that  of  the  best  foreign 
importations. ' ' 


LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 


A    MUSICAL    MYSTERY 


OPERA  HISTORIQUE 


THE   OVERTURE 


SYMPHONY  SECUNDO.    (C  Major) 
"SHE" 

INSPIRATION  -  -  -  DIVINATION 


SYMPHONY  SECUNDO.    (C  Major) 
"SHE" 

INSPIRATION  DIVINATION 

This  little  world  of  ours  we  call  the  earth  is  but  one  of  the 
nine  great  planets  of  the  solar  system. 

This  system  of  planets  includes,  besides  the  Sun  himself,  who 
dominates  them  all,  Jupiter,  Saturn,  Mars,  Neptune,  Uranus, 
Venus,  Mercury  and  the  Earth. 

This  little  world  of  ours  is  said  to  be  composed  entirely  of 
land  and  water;  its  shape  that  of  an  oblate  spheroid  and  its 
movements  two,  diurnal  and  annual,  in  the  first  of  which  it  re- 
volves upon  its  own  axis,  while  during  the  time  allotted  to  the 
latter  it  makes  a  revolution  entirely  around  the  sun.  I  use  the 
phrase  "is  said  to  be  composed  entirely  of  land  and  water"  ad- 
visedly. For  at  the  end  of  upward  of  six  thousand  years  of 
scientific  research,  scientists  have  arrived  and  stopped  at  this 
absurd  conclusion. 

''Who  disputes  iU" 

Why  I  and  common-sense.  For  if  this  little  world  of  ours 
were  composed  entirely  of  land  and  water,  it  would  be  but  a 
senseless  hulk,  a  lifeless  corpse,  wyhich  to  become  a  sentient  thing 
would  still  require  to  be  endowed  with  its  heart  of  fire,  its  lungs, 
the  air  and  its  soul,  the  light. 

Yet  the  progress  made  by  scientific  research  during  the  past 
few  generations  is  truly  amazing.  For  scarce  five  centuries  agone 
and  previous  to  that  date,  indeed,  so  far  back  as  my  recollec- 
tion carries  me— to  the  date  of  the  creation  as  given  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, where  God  is  said  to  have  finished  His  work  by  creating 
Man  (and  setting  him  to  rule  over  me}  we  are  supposed  to  have 
believed  this  little  world  of  ours  to  have  been  even  a  flatter  thing 
that  it  really  is. 

Some  of  us  believed  that  this  flatness  rested  upon  the  back 
of  a  huge  tortoise,  while  others  declared  that  it  was  placed  upon 


52  I  .A  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

the  head  of  an  immense  serpent  which  stood  upon  its  a— ah— 
tail. 

But  since  none  of  us  provided  a  substantial  resting  place 
either  for  the  feet  of  the  tortoise,  or  the  tail  of  the  serpent,  these 
beliefs  fell  through  in  time,  as  may  be  supposed,  for  want  of  a 
solid  foundation.  And  less  than  five  hundred  years  ago,  when 
Columbus,  the  great  Columbus,  that  stepping-stone  of  jasper, 
by  the  aid  of  which  so  many  others  have  mounted  to  fortune  and 
to  fame— that  stepping-stone  of  finest  jasper,  from  which  the 
soil  of  the  dirty  foot-prints  of  those  others  actuated  by  sordid  am- 
bition or  grovelling  greed  once  cleansed  away,  must  shine  forth 
in  all  its  native  purity  of  character  which  yet  was  not  without 
its  flaw— when  Columbus,  our  great  Columbus,  first  declared  it 
to  be  his  belief,  not  only  that  the  world  was  round,  but  that  the 
same  state  of  affairs  existed  over  all  its  surface,  that  it  was  in- 
habited upon  the  side  opposite  to  that  upon  which  he  found  him- 
self, he  met  with  only  ridicule,  contempt  and  disbelief. 

One  of  our  great  sages  in  particular,  I  remember,  declared 
that  nothing  would  make  him  believe  that  men  could  walk  upon 
their  heads  or  that  trees  grew  with  their  roots  in  the  air.  (In- 
deed, so  great  as  this,  my  friends,  was  the  assininity  of  our  im- 
mediate ancestors.) 

Yet  since  that  date,  scientists  have  discovered,  to  their  own 
satisfaction,  at  least,  that  the  shape  of  the  earth  is  nearly  round ; 
that  its  circumference  is  twenty-five  thousand  miles;  and  its  di- 
ameter nearly  eight  thousand  miles. 

But  this  last  is  from  surface  measurement  or  from  mathe- 
matical deduction  alone,  for  wrhere  is  he  who  has  taken  the  true 
diameter  of  the  sphere,  penetrated  through  its  central  wheel  of 
fire— that  wondrous  water  meter  upon  which  the  earth,  the 
ground  we  prize  so  highly  that  we  barter  and  sell  it  by  the  acre, 
the  rod,  the  yard  and  even  by  the  foot,  and  which  has  been  the 
cause  of  more  contention  and  bloodshed  than  has  any  other 
known  thing— setting  race  against  race,  nation  against  nation, 
and  even  brother  against  brother  in  deadliest  warfare — is,  after 
all,  but  a  mere  incrustation  of  mud  and  dirt  upon  the  tire. 

Many  are  they  who  have  circumnavigated  the  earth  and  who 
declare  its  true  waist  measure  to  be  indeed  twenty-five  thousand 
miles.  But  where  is  he  who  has  safely  steered  between  the 
Scyllas  and  Charybdis  of  our  own  atmosphere,  pierced  through 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  53 

and  circled  about  the  outermost  layer  of  clouds,  the  last  of  the 
many  cloud-belts  by  which  the  hand  of  the  Almighty  binds  and 
holds  in  place  the  casket  we  call  the  earth,  in  which  He  has  placed 
the  germs  of  all  earthly  life —  (These  indeed  might  generate  and  be 
forced  into  existence  by  the  grateful  warmth  from  within,  but  all 
of  them  must  perish  at  their  birth  were  it  not  for  the  genial  air 
provided  for  them  to  breathe — that  connecting  link  between  the 
vital  spark  within  and  the  vital  spark  without;  that  conductor 
between  the  electric  light  and  heat  without  and  those  within)  — 
and  so  taken  the  true  circumference  of  this  little  world  of  ours, 
which  is  composed  not  only  of  land  and  water,  but  of  that  no 
less  essential  element,  fire  and  the  even  more  necessary  adjuncts, 

light,  heat  and  air. 

*     *     # 

To  give,  to  receive ;  the  call,  the  response— the  chord  that  vi- 
brates between — these  are  the  unrevealed  secrets  of  our  being. 

All  things,  even  opposites,  it  has  been  said,  may  be  told  off  in 
pairs.  If  so,  then  here  it  would  require  ' '  three  to  make  a  pair ' ' 
and  counting  this  responsive  chord,  even  a  fourth. 

The  Creator,  the  destroyer,  symbolized  by  love  and  hatred, 
good  and  evil,  which  are  not  the  abstract  qualities  they  seem,  but 
are  described  as  being  engaged  in  eternal,  active  warfare— but 
what  are  good  and  evil  in  themselves  without  the  throne  for  which 
they  continually  contend— the  heart  of  man  1 

Life  and  death  represented  by  day  and  night,  light  and 
darkness,  but  what  are  these  in  themselves  without  the  object 
they  act  upon  or  indeed  without  the  electric  cord  which  binds 
them  to  it? 

The  soul  of  man  like  the  world  that  man  inhabits,  is  but  a 
divided  kingdom  ruled  jointly  by  a  creative  and  a  destructive 
God. 

To  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  good  and  to  worship  that 
God  whose  symbol  it  is,  is  what  civilized  man  calls  his  religious 
faith,  yet  everywhere,  even  in  the  smallest  items,  evil  continually 
asserts  its  ascendency. 

I  can  think  of  no  bettter  example  of  this,  at  the  moment, 
than  the  one  given  in  that  Biblical  romance  where  she  of  ill-re- 
pute, the  Witch  of  Endor,  calls  up  the  Spirit  of  that  Godly 
grumbler  the  Prophet  Samuel,  and  forces  it  against  its  will  to 


54  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

reveal  to  King  Saul  the  time  and  place  of  his  own  near-approach- 
ing  death. 

" The  Witch  of  Endor ?"     She?    Oh,  no,  I  am  not  she.  For 
lo !  a  greater  than  the  Witch  of  Endor  is  here. 


The  electric  cord.  ELECTRICITY.  In  that  one  word  we 
sound  the  keynote  to  all  existence. 

Strange  how  very  slow  we  have  seemed  to  be  in  grasping 
even  a  rudimentary  knowledge  of  this  great  electric  science,  the 
science  of  life. 

The  Voltaic  pile,  the  many  curious  and  beautiful  experi- 
ments of  electricians  subsequent  to  its  discovery,  among  them 
those  of  Franklin,  who  caught  and  played  with  the  electric  fire 
from  the  clouds;  that  of  Dr.  Richmond,  who,  by  the  aid  of  an 
electrometer  erected  upon  a  housetop  in  Moscow,  grasped  in  one 
single  flash  more  practical  knowledge  of  the  science  than  was 
possessed  by  all  of  the  electricians  of  his  day  combined,  yet  un- 
happily in  science's  interests  was  not  permitted  to  remain  and  im- 
part it  to  them.  These  you  will  say  are  but  the  things  of  yester- 
day. For  less  than  three  hundred  years  ago  we  were  total  strang- 
ers to  the  electric  battery,  the  telegraph,  the  electric  light  and  to 
that  mighty  benefactor  of  mankind,  the  lightning-rod  man,  who 
grasps  the  thunderbolts  of  Jove  as  they  are  hurled  and  turns 
them  from  their  course.  Even  that  newest  "fad"  Electric 
Christianity  was  quite  unknown. 

Yet  it  is  but  the  arrogance  of  intellect  to  suppose  that  none 
as  yet  have  gained  these  heights  to  which  it  is  but  making  the 
ascent— that  it  has  mastered  the  science  of  life  while  in  truth  it 
has  but  progressed  toward  the  attainment  of  the  art  of  living. 

Man's  religion  meant  for  his  heavenly  salvation  of  times 
proves  his  earthly  bane. 

In  no  instance  is  this  made  more  apparent  than  in  the  fact 
that  during  all  the  ages  of  the  past  he  has  wilfully  steeped  him- 
self in  ignorance,  leaving  all  learning  to  the  priests  and  teachers 
of  his  religious  faith.  During  all  the  past  the  religious  priest- 
hood has  been  permitted  either  to  absorb  or  to  suppress  all  know- 
ledge. But  believe  one  who  has  been  from  the  beginning:  "In 
each  and  every  age  there  have  been  those  who  have  reached  this 
goal  toward  which  you  are  but  taking  your  first  strides." 


A  MUSICAL,  MYSTERY  55 

In  the  insolence  of  your  small  successes,  ye  even  ignore  and 
deny  to  it  its  rightful  place,  the  greatest  of  all  electrical  experi- 
ments of  which  ye  have  the  record,  and  because  it  so  far  sur- 
passes anything  to  which  the  present  age  has  attained  ye  miscall 
it  by  the  name  of  a  miracle. 

I  refer  to  that  grand  experiment  of  the  Prophet  Elijah  upon 
Mount  Carmel,  where  upon  the  twelve  charged  stones  he  erected 
an  altar  to  Jehovah,  his  God,  placing  thereon  fuel,  heavily  laden 
with  electricity  and  upon  this,  in  turn,  a  bullock  prepared  in 
like  manner  and  thus  formed  a  mass  of  combustible  matter  so 
heavily  charged  with  animal,  vegetable  and  mineral  electricity 
combined,  that  had  it  been  placed  near  the  head-waters  of  the 
Mississippi,  then  lit  with  a  spark  from  the  clouds  surcharged  with 
the  electric  heat  of  an  unprecedented  drouth,  the  names  thus  ig- 
nited must  have  licked  up  the  waters  of  that  great  river  itself 
and  the  Mississippi  would  have  been  no  more. 

But  when  a  ministering  spirit  takes  upon  itself  the  role  of  a 
destroying  angel,  even  though  it  act  in  the  name  of  and  for  the 
glory  of  God,  then  God  rebukes  and  even  chastises  it.  And  so  it 
was  with  the  Prophet  Elijah.  Not  content  with  having  accom- 
plished his  mission — that  of  reuniting  recreant  Israel  to  its  God; 
not  content  with  the  success  of  his  pious  fraud,  which  not  only 
"electrified  and  humbled  all  Judea,  but  even  induced  King  Ahab 
to  purchase  a  through  ticket  to  Paradise  on  the  spot,  (which,  how- 
ever he  lost  before  starting  and  was,  as  I  have  since  learned,  ac- 
cording to  rule  put  off  the  train  at  the  first  way  station)  Elijah 
must  needs  cause  the  death  of  the  four  hundred  and  fifty  priests 
and  princes  of  Baal ;  and  God,  to  punish  him  for  this  act  of  wan- 
ton cruelty,  permitted  his  secret  to  be  detected  by— a  woman, 
the  prophet's  arch-enemy,  Jezebel.  And  when  Queen  Jezebel 
swore  a  mighty  oath  that  even  as  were  the  four  hundred  and  fifty 
princes  and  priests  of  Baal,  so,  likewise  should  be  the  Prophet 
Elijah  within  a  given  time,  sending  word  to  him  to  that  effect, 
the  Prophet  Elijah  practically  confessed  the  imposition  he  had 
practiced  by— running  away. 

For  Elijah  ran  not  like  a  prophet  of  God  but  like  a  Son-of- 
a-man. 

' '  Jezebel  1 ' '  She  1  Oh,  no,  I  am  not  she.  For  lo !  a  greater 
than  Queen  Jezebel  is  here. 


56  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

Yet  was  Elijah  a  prophet  of  the  great  Jehovah,  since  in  the 
name  of  that  God  he  prophesied,  among  other  things  that  which 
came  to  pass  many  generations  later,  the  advent  of  that  Prince 
of  the  house  of  David,  the  Savior  and  Redeemer. 

The  Prophets  of  God.    Who  have  they  been  ? 

At  eventide  the  Sultan  had  a  vision.  Hear  him  relate  it. 
#     #     * 

"I  sat  enthroned,  the  last  of  my  race  and  of  a  long  dynasty. 
I  had  held  absolute  sway  over  my  myriads  of  people  in  war  and 
in  peace  during  many  long  years. 

In  war  I  had  led  my  soldiers  to  victorious  battle  with  the 
war  cry  of  our  nation  and  our  religion:  "Allah  Achbar,"  and 
taken  up  the  oft-repeated  refrain  "For  God  Is  God— and  Ma- 
homet is  His  Prophet." 

Then  in  peace,  with  spoils  of  war,  I  had  builded  mosques  and 
palaces,  theatres  and  schools  for  these  my  loving  subjects  who 
shared  with  me  their  every  joy  yet  hid  from  me  their  sorrows  and 
their  sufferings. 

In  pursuit  of  power,  possessions,  pleasure,  I  had  passed 
from  youth  to  hoary  age.  My  beard  had  turned  from  gold  to 
brown,  from  brown  to  silver,  then  hung  in  snowy  waves  far  be- 
low my  girdle ;  and  now,  ambition  satisfied,  craving  no  more  for 
conquest,  surfeited  with  all  the  sweets  of  life,  yet  denied  the  one 
great  desire  of  my  heart — that  of  sharing  my  throne  with  Azalea, 
my  beloved  Christian  wife,  that  our  children  might  inherit  it — 
plunged  in  the  gloom  of  a  first  great  disappointment,  I  began  to 
bethink  me  for  the  first  time  of  the  journey  all  must  take  and  take 
alone,  across  that  slender  bridge  Nirrvanna,  and  to  wonder  what 
for  me  lay  beyond.  So  I  began  for  the  first  time  to  question 
earnestly  "Lord,  What  of  my  soul's  welfare?  What  shall  I  do 
to  be  saved  ?  Send,  oh !  send  some  of  my  race  or  of  my  kindred 
who  have  safely  crossed  Nirrvanna  that  they  may  tell  me  what 
they  have  found  in  the  seven  heavens  beyond!" 

I  sat  enthroned.  The  noisy  glittering  pageant  of  the  day 
—my  council,  who  had  donned  the  robes  of  state,  the  better  to  im- 
press me  with  the  solemnity  of  their  decision  that ' '  only  the  chil- 
dren of  a  wife  of  my  own  race  and  faith  might  hope  to  inherit 
my  throne;"  my  royal  guard,  in  their  brilliant  uniform;  the 
long  train  of  ambassadors  from  foreign  courts,  with  their  retin- 
ues of  attendants  and  pages  all  in  gorgeous  array;  ambassadors 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY 


57 


who  had  come  in  their  own  sovereign's  names  to  plead  or  to  re- 
monstrate with  me ;  the  yet  longer  train  of  suppliants  in  holiday 
attire,  most  of  whom  but  coined  a  prayer  that  they  might  have 
speech  with  the  Lord  they  loved— all  had  passed  away,  and  but 
for  the  many  hued  slaves  who  flitted  noiselessly  about  like  so 
many  of  the  spectres  I  had  invoked  from  the  world  beyond  the 
grave,  the  great  audience  hall  was  empty. 

My  dancing  girls  had  come  and  gone  abashed  at  my  un- 
wonted mood,  and  but  for  the  plash  of  the  perfumed  fountain  in 
its  center,  the  great  audience  hall  was  silent. 

Then  again  I  cried  aloud ;  ' '  But  what  of  my  soul 's  welfare  ? 
Lord,  what  shall  I  do  to  be  saved?  Send,  oh!  send  some  of  my 
kindred  who  have  made  safe  passage  o'er  the  hair-like  bridge 
that  they  may  show  what  they  have  found  in  the  Paradise  be- 
yond, even  to  the  glories  of  the  seventh  heaven." 

A  soft  hand  was  pressed  upon  my  own  and  rested  there, 
and  I  knew  that  Azalea,  like  Queen  Esther  of  old,  had  come  un- 
bidden into  the  presence  of  her  sovereign  Lord.  But  I  looked  not 
at  her.  My  heart  misgave  me.  Instead  my  gaze  was  riveted  upon 
the  tapestry  which  closed  the  entrance  to  the  great  audience 
chamber.  ' 

The  tapestry  moved  as  if  lifted  by  unseen  hands  and  there, 
framed  in  the  doorway  as  in  a  picture,  I  beheld  the  figures  of 
our  first  parents,  radiant  in  health  and  beauty,  perfect  in  sym- 
metry of  form  and  feature  stamped  "fresh  coined  from  the 
mint  of  their  Creator." 

Then  another  form  appeared  and  earth's  first  baby  was 
there. 

At  once  the  reins  of  government  fell  into  infant  hands.  All 
creation  bowed  before  him,  none  so  abjectly  his  slaves  as  were 
his  proud  parents.  Impulsive,  passionate,  uncontrolled  he  ruled 
an  infant  despot. 

Then  a  second  baby  came  and  without  reason,  as  it  seemed 
to  him,  the  reins  of  government  were  wrested  from  the  hands  of 
the  first  and  held  by  those  of  the  second. 

And  so  was  established  Baby-sovereignty — a  sovereignty 
which  has  known  no  downfall,  but  whose  reign  has  been  un- 
broken during  six  thousand  years  of  time  throughout  the  space  of 
the  whole  earth. 


58  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

But  this  usurpation  of  power,  like  all  other  acts  of  its  kind, 
bred  discontent,  jealousy  of  the  usurper,  and  rebellion  in  the 
heart  of  him  from  whom  it  had  been  taken. 

They  grew  and  grew  these  first  earth-born  brothers  and  as 
they  grew  they  were  instructed  in  all  the  known  industries  of 
the  day.  Each  chose  for  himself  his  calling. 

They  were  likewise  instructed  in  all  the  tenets  of  a  religious 
faith  received  as  may  be  supposed  by  word  of  mouth  from  God 
Himself. 

They  grew  and  grew  to  man's  estate.  Then  the  long-sup- 
pressed jealousy  of  the  elder  burst  forth  and  in  a  fit  of  ungovern- 
able wrath  at  what  he  believed  to  be  the  injustice  of  God  Him- 
self in  refusing  to  accept  from  him  as  a  religious  sacrifice  the 
best  of  all  his  earthly  possessions,  smiling  instead  upon  that  of  his 
brother  which  as  his  "best"  could  be  no  better,  the  elder  slew  the 
younger  brother,  sacrificing  him  according  to  his  religious  rites 
and  offered  him  up  as. a  burnt-offering  to  his  thrice-offended  God 
— that  God  in  whose  nostrils  the  savor  of  burning  flesh  had 
proven  more  acceptable  than  was  the  odor  of  the  choicest  fruits 
and  flowers. 

God  PERFORCE  accepted  the  sacrifice  but  heavily  indeed 
did  He  punish  him  who  had  had  the  bravado  to  offer  it. 

Time  passed  on  and  that  allotted  to  the  parents  upon  this 
earth  had  been  fulfilled.  I  saw  them  wing  their  way  upward 
toward  the  sun  guided  by  the  radiant  spirit  of  him  their  youngest 
born  who  had  been  the  first  to  make  this  ascent  from  earth  to 
heaven;  but  pausing,  lingering  by  the  way,  looking  back  regret- 
fully toward  the  earth  which  still  held  their  eldest  born;  left 
behind  to  expiate  his  offense  upon  the  ground  where  it  had  been 
committed ;  then  fearing  to  lose  sight  of  the  loved  one  altogether, 
they  stopped  midway  upon  the  surface  of  a  beautful  star,  hoping 
that  by  this,  their  voluntary  exile  from  Heaven,  and  by  their 
united  intercession,  to  aid  in  his  atonement  and  to  shorten  the 
term  of  his  punishment. 

And  thus  was  founded  what  some  creeds  know  as  "Purgat- 
ory," but  which  by  Mohammedan,  Jew  and  Christian  alike  re- 
ceives the  name  of  "Paradise." 

From  thence  the  younger  wended  his  way  alone,  looking 
back  in  his  turn  toward  the  loved  ones  left  behind.  And  so  was 


A  MUSICAL.  MYSTERY  59 

forged  that  triple  chain  of  love,  regret  and  expectation  which 
still  binds  earth  to  heaven,  sin-stained  man  to  his  relenting  God. 

They  were  gone  and  in  their  place  the  patriarch  Noah  stood. 
Sublime  his  simple  faith  in  God.  Simple,  yet  majestic,  his  mien, 
as  became  one  who  had  conversed  with  his  Creator. 

Behind  him  were  his  three  sons,  and  although  they  tried  hard 
to  faithfully  copy  their  sire  in  all  things,  still  there  lurked  in 
their  countenances  avarice,  cunning,  greed.  And  when  Noah  was 
called  to  his  reward,  halting  at  Paradise,  he  looked  back  in  puz- 
zled wonder  that  his  sons  followed  not  in  his  wake,  then  waited 
for  them  there  until  they  should  have  cast  from  off  their  feet 
those  clogs  of  human  passions  which  weighted  them  still  to  earth. 

Then  in  turn  and  together  stood  the  three  Jewish  Patri- 
archs, Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob  and  the  scene  that  had  passed 
before  repeated  itself. 

But  here  I  seemed  to  see  a  vision  within  a  vision. 

As  their  descendants  grew  and  multiplied  upon  the  face  of 
the  earth,  they  grew  further  and  further  from  that  God  who  had 
created  it  and  them  and  bestowed  it  upon  them  as  their  inherit- 
ance. As  man  grew  strong  in  intellect  he  divided  himself  further 
and  further  from  that  supreme  intellect  of  which  his  was  but  a 
part;  and  strong  in  his  own  wisdom,  wise  in  his  own  conceit,  he 
divorced  science  from  religion,  giving  precedence  to  the  former. 

For  so  long  had  he  left  the  name  of  his  God  to  be  pro- 
nounced only  by  the  priests  of  his  religious  faith,  and  by  them 
only  in  the  Holy  of  Holies,  that  in  time  God's  name  was  lost  to 
man  and  he  remembered  not  His  dwelling  place. 

For  himself  he  soon  tired  of  the  covering  of  the  canopy  of 
heaven  and  made  for  himself  tents.  These  gave  place  to  houses, 
which  in  turn  became  palaces,  and  his  primitive  camps  made 
way  for  great  walled  cities. 

And  so  vain  was  man  of  his  handicraft  that  he  tried  to  prove 
that  it  outvied  even  the  God-created  forests  and  cliffs  from 
which  he  had  taken  the  material  with  which  to  build  it. 

Failing  in  this,  he  cried:  "There  is  no  God.  All  things 
evolve  from  natural  causes." 

"Children  and  fools,"  it  has  been  said,  "always  speak  the 
truth."  And  here  man,  in  the  very  height  of  his  folly,  hit  upon 
that  one  great  truth — that  grand  plan  both  of  material  and  of 
spiritual  life— that  wonderful  scheme  of  progressive  evolution. 


60  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

And  here  a  problem  was  presented  to  me  for  my  solving. 
"Instead,  as  I  should  have  supposed  of  this  added  weight  of 
humanity  and  of  humanity's  sins  bursting  the  fetters  which 
bound  the  earth  to  its  parent  stem,  the  sun,  it  seemed  but  to 
strengthen  that  electric  chord,  by  drawing  it  more  taut." 

Then  I  beheld  Moses,  Elijah  and  the  rest  of  the  prophets. 
But  although  I  questioned  these  in  fear  and  in  awe  as  to  what 
they  had  found  beyond  Nirrvanna,  not  one  word  would  they 
answer  me. 

Then  from  without  came  the  sound  of  music,  of  laughter  and 
of  dancing,  and  in  through  the  still  unclosed  doorway  up  to  the 
very  basin  of  the  fountain,  trooped  a  merry  company'of  men,  wo- 
men and  children,  and  in  their  midst  was  one  in  whose  counten- 
ance and  bearing  were  blended  the  tender  innocence  of  a  child 
with  the  grandeur  of  a  god. 

These  I  questioned  without  fear,  but  they  only  looked  at 
me  in  wonder  and  kept  up  their  never-ending  song,  and  the  bur- 
then of  all  this  seemed  to  be  "By  faith  alone.  By  faith  alone." 

Then  He  who  was  in  their  midst,  bending  His  loving  glance 
upon  me,  said  in  a  voice  whose  melody  filled  the  great  audience 
chamber:  "I  am  the  way  and  the  light,"  and  again,  "I  am  the 
resurrection  and  the  life. ' ' 

My  heart  went  out  to  Him.  My  soul  did  Him  homage.  I 
believed. 

Then  out  again  thronged  the  merry  company,  not  upward 
toward  Paradise,  but  scattering  abroad  again  upon  the  earth, 
and  in  their  wake  I  seemed  to  see  the  shadowy  forms  of  all 
those  whom  I  had  before  beheld,  and  among  them — no,  I  could 
not  mistake  him— there  was  our  own  great  prophet,  Mahomet 
himself.  , 

Then  I  questioned  of  her  whose  hand  still  rested  upon  my 
own :  ' '  Azalea,  sawest  thou  the  visions  ?  "  , 

And  she  replied:  "Only  to  my  lord  was  it  given  to  behold 
them,  but  he  described  each  as  it  passed." 

"But,"  said  I,  "These  are  of  thy  people  and  of  thy  faith. 
What  have  I  to  do  with  them  ?  No,  I,  a  Mohammedan,  the  mighty 
ruler  of  a  mighty  people,  can  not  become  an  apostate  to  my  re- 
ligious faith.  'Allah  Achbar.'  There  is  but  one  God—." 

"But,"  she  interposed,  "many  have  been  His  prophets." 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  61 

No.  I  could  not  openly  become  an  apostate  to  my  religious 
faith,  but  I  knew  that  when  next  in  the  mosque  I  bowed,  I  would 
shout  with  the  loudest  there:  "Allah  AcJibar,"  then  whisper  to 
myself,  ' '  So  God  be  God,  what  matter  who  His  prophets  ? ' ' 

*  *     * 

That  there  is  a  God  and  that  He  not  only  hears  but  answers 
the  prayers  of  His  followers,  true  or  false,  whether 
offered  up  in  mosque  or  temple,  in  grove  or  in  the  extremity  of 
the  battlefield,  convince  thyself,  oh,  devotee  of  science,  by  refer- 
ence to  thine  own  works— the  histories  of  all  the  religious  wars 
of  the  world. 

The  records  contained  in  the  books  of  the  wars  of  the  Lord 
named  in  Holy  Writ  and  many  others  are  lost  to  you  forever 
through  priest-craft.  But  among  the  annals  that  ye  still  re- 
tain, "Where,"  I  ask,  "from  the  'Jehovah  Adonai'  of  the  Jews, 
the  'Allah  Achbar'  of  Mahomet,  down  to  the  'Jesu  Maria'  of 
the  Spaniards  or  the  'Santo  Espirito'  of  Cortez,  has  God  ever 
tailed  to  be  deceived  by  this  lip-service  of  man,  refused  to 
hearken  to  him  who  called  upon  His  name  the  loudest,  or  to 
award  the  victory  to  him  who  made  the  loudest  promises,  in  the 
belief  that  by  this  means  all  mankind  might  be  brought  in  time 
not  only  to  worship  the  One  True  God — which  indeed  most  de- 
but to  worship  Him  in  that  manner  most  acceptable  to  Him?" 

And  where  man  has  used  this  victory  but  to  enrich  himself 
by  despoiling  the  vanquished,  converting  the  few,  and  sending 
the  many  by  devious  and  tortuous  paths  to  God  Himself  to  be  in- 
structed in  the  faith,  "Where,"  I  ask,  "has  He  ever  failed  to 
visit  him  with  a  deserved  rebuke?  Permitting  him  to  be  dis- 
graced as  a  race,  degraded  as  a  nation,  among  nations,  and  al- 
ways in  his  turn  to  be  despoiled  of  his  ill-gotten  gains  ? ' ' 

But  that  God  is  patient  and  all-enduring,  never  meting  out 
to  man  even  this  well-merited  punishment  without  affording  him 
ample  time  in  which  to  repent  him  of  and  to  retrieve  his  fault, 
witness  the  proofs  scattered  all  over  this  little  world  of  ours,  in 
the  shape  of  the  relics  of  the  handiwork  by  which  ante-diluvian 
man  believed  that  he  might  outwit  and  so  escape  God's  just 
judgment. 

*  *     * 

A  woman  slept  and  dreamed.  And  in  her  dream  she  stood 
where  she  had  often  stood  before,  in  Central  Park,  New  York 


62  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

City,  by  the  side  of  the  great  obelisk  known  as  "Cleopatra's 
Needle."  Reaching  across  the  iron  railing  which  protects  it, 
she  traced  with  the  tip  of  her  finger  the  inscription  thereon.  Now 
this  held  for  her  no  meaning  whatever,  but  something  in  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  broken  edges  of  the  stone,  did. 

A  group  near  at  hand  were  commenting  with  customary 
American  "gush"  upon  this  monument  to  ancient  Egyptian  art 
hewn,  as  they  declared,  from  one  single  piece  of  rock. 

Asking  her  opinion,  at  length,  she  replied :  "  It  is  not  made  of 
solid  stone,  but  is  composed  of  bits  of  granite  from  the  quarries 
cemented  with  a  mortar  thickened  with  stone-dust  from  the  same 
source.  This,  when  dried,  hardened  and  removed  from  the 
mould  in  which  it  was  cast,  presented  every  appearance  of  hav- 
ing been  wrought  from  one  single  block  of  granite." 

There  was  a  laugh  behind  her,  and  a  woman's  voice  said: 
"Thou  hast  guessed  the  riddle  which  has  puzzled  wiser  heads 
than  thine  for  generations  past, ' '  and  turning  quickly,  she  beheld 
in  the  midst  of  the  group  of  attendants  and  admirers  a  woman 
whose  rich  oriental  beauty  was  enhanced  by  the  bright  robe  of 
many-hued  gauze  in  which  she  was  enveloped,  and  she  knew  that 
she  was  looking  upon  Cleopatra  herself.  But  what  puzzled  her 
was  that  at  the  Queen's  right  hand,  dressed  in  the  latest  English 
mode,  she  recognized  the  explorer  Stanley. 

"Cleopatra?"  She?  Oh,  no.  I  am  not  she.  For  lo;  a 
greater  even  than  Egypt's  beautiful  Queen  is  here. 


But  if  those  grand  monuments  to  pre-historic  art — the  pyra- 
mids of  Egypt,  the  temples  and  palaces  of  the  orient;  the  sup- 
posed Moorish  castles  and  citadels  built  upon  the  mountain  tops 
of  Spain  and  Northern  Africa;  the  so-called  Druidical  ruins, 
feudal  castles,  Roman  aqueducts,  and  catacombs  of  Europe;  the 
palaces  and  roadways  attributed  to  the  Incas  of  South  America ; 
and  the  Teocalli  and  cliff-dwellings  said  to  have  been  the  work 
of  the  Ancient  Aztecs  of  North  America,  were  not  all  of  them 
wrought  by  the  hands  of  that  race  of  giants  which  Scripture  de- 
clares sprang  from  the  union  of  the  sons  of  God  with  the  daugh- 
ters of  man,  then  those  immense  boulders  which  enter  largely 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  63 

into  the  construction  of  all  were  but  cast  where  they  stand,  and 
are,  like  Cleopatra's  Needle,  formed  of  mere  concrete. 

But  no.  These  wonderful  monuments  to  ancient  masonic  art 
have  proven  as  well-nigh  indestructible  as  the  great  earth  itself. 
— this  little  world  of  ours,  which  scientists  declare  was  originally 
but  a  shapeless  burning  mass  that  had  rebelliously  broken  away 
from  the  sun  itself. 

Believe  me,  the  city  seen  at  the  bottom  of  Adriatic  is  no 

myth,  but  lies  there  today  after  all  these  thousands  of  years,  a 

mute  testimonial  to  the  height  to  which  the  strength  of  man  had 

arrived  when  it  dared  oppose  itself  to  the  will  and  wrath  of  God. 

#     *     * 

"Jehovah  Adonai."  There  is  but  one  God  and  I  am  His 
Prophet. 

Oh,  earth,  rebellious  child  of  the  sun;  when  wilt  thou  re- 
turn to  thine  allegiance? 

Oh,  man,  rebellious  child  of  God;  when  humble  thyself  in 
the  dust  before  the  face  of  thy  Creator  ? 

The  earth  will  return  to  the  sun — never.  For  when  her 
heart  of  fire  shall  have  consumed  itself,  and  refuses  longer  to 
respond  to  the  electric  touches  of  the  sun,  then  all  movement  will 
cease.  The  dread  chill  of  death  will  settle  over  all,  and  this  little 
world  of  ours  will  become  a  fixed  star  in  the  firmament — beauti- 
ful, most  beautiful  in  death,  yet  still  prodigally  wasting  its  sub- 
stance upon  the  air,  sending  forth  its  quota  of  brilliant  phosphor- 
escent light,  like  the  other  dead  and  decaying  worlds  around 
her. 

But  the  living  world? 

As  it  appeared  in  its  perfection  of  form,  the  earth  will 
never  appear  again.  "What  is  now  four-fifths  water,  was  then 
four-fifths  land. 

"You  doubt  it?"  Why  Eden  was  a  well-watered  garden, 
else  it  would  not  have  been  Eden — fertile  beyond  conception, 
growing  in  profuse  abundance  all  things  good  and  beautiful,  that 
were  indigenious  to  earthly  soil.  And  without  irrigation,  plenti- 
fully watered  by  its  beautiful  lakes,  its  broad  and  winding  riv- 
ers, its  multitudes  of  springs  and  fountains,  fed  by  the  eternal 
snows  of  its  lofty  mountains. 

And  added  to  this  sufficiency  of  water,  have  we  not  the  ac- 
cumulated waters  of  that  steady  downpour  of  forty  days  and 


64  LA  GRAN  QUIBIEA. 

forty  nights  ?  These,  it  is  true,  rise  in  frequent  vapory  protests 
toward  heaven,  but  are  flung  back  upon  the  face  of  the  earth,  a 
continual  reminder  to  man  that  God's  will  must  Ite  done. 

Far  to  the  north  where  lies  that  intangible  thing,  the  North 
Pole,  there  rose  a  giant  volcanic  mountain  from  out  the  center  of 
a  circular  inland  sea  whose  waters  reflected  in  changeful  hues  the 
lurid  glow  of  the  flames  which  sprang  through  the  snows  of  its 
summit.  And  from  the  shores  of  this  circular  sea  stretched  the 
earth,  diversified  it  is  true  by  its  mountains,  its  valley,  its  forests, 
and  its  water-courses,  but  otherwise  in  an  unbroken  mass  far  be- 
low the  equator,  and  from  thence  it  extended  in  five  long  fringe- 
like  points,  far  toward  the  South  Pole,  from  between  which 
gleamed  the  salt  waters  of  the  great  southern  sea  like  the  points 
of  some  luminous  star.  And  this  great  stretch  of  land — was  it 
inhabited  by  the  five  races  now  extant,  and  if  so,  how  appor- 
tioned between  them? 

I  read  you  this  riddle. 

But  no,  man,  formed  after  the  image  of  his  Creator,  was 
lofty  in  stature,  grand  of  physique,  and  fair  of  face. 

But  when  God  created  man  and  gave  to  him  the  earth  as  his 
inheritance,  He  set  a  limit  both  to  man's  progression  and  to  his 
retrogression,  and  said:  "But  overstep  the  boundaries  I  have 
set,  and  I  will  take  away  thine  inheritance  or  sweep  thee  from 
off  its  face." 

Man  oversteped  this  boundary  line  once. 

God  raised  His  hand  and  smote.  The  earth  quaked  to  its 
very  center,  rocked  and  reeled,  yawned  and  gaped,  and  when  it 
had  closed  again,  had  engulfed  cities  and  their  inhabitants,  moun- 
tains, forests  and  even  water-courses.  The  inward  fires  of  the  earth 
burst  forth  through  the  tops  of  its  mountains,  which  threw  forth 
showers  of  burning  rock,  streams  of  molten  lava,  and  fire  which 
in  its  turn  consumed  cities  and  their  inhabitants,  forests,  orch- 
ards, and  vineyards  and  dried  up  the  smaller  streams. 

^nd  when  God  lifted  His  hand,  lo !  that  portion  of  the  earti 
upon  which  it  had  fallen  the  heaviest  was  seamed  and  scarred, 
seared  and  browned,  and  behold  that  portion  of  mankind  who 
had  survived  this  awful  dispensation,  were  stamped  with  this 
same  color-mark. 

And  these  were  many.  For,  believe  me,  spite  of.  the  teach- 
ings of  your  religious  faiths  and  your  religious  creeds,  God's 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  65 

own  power  is  limited.  That  which  has  once  been  created  and 
endowed  with  life  temporal  and  life  eternal,  with  mortality 
and  immortality,  is  indestructible  and  cannot  be  wholly  exter- 
minated either  by  the  hand  of  its  Creator  or  by  that  of  The 
Destroyer. 

Man  overstepped  this  boundary  line  twice. 

Then  God,  to  show  His  power,  swept  away  the  protecting 
clouds  from  about  the  Earth  and  turned  upon  it  the  full  light 
of  His  angry  countenance. 

Beneath  that  terrible  gaze  all  things  withered,  scorched  and 
yellowed.  Pestilence  raged.  And  when  God  in  pity  turned 
His  face  aside,  man  crept  forth  yellow — yellowed  by  the  pes- 
tilence and  by  that  awful  glare  of  light. 

Ages  passed  on,  and  man  overstepped  this  boundary-line 
thrice. 

Then  God  in  fierce  anger  turned  His  face  entirely  away 
from  the  Earth.  Heavy  clouds  arose  and  obscured  the  light 
of  the  moon  and  of  the  stars.  A  darkness,  thick,  palpable  to  the 
touch,  spread  like  a  pall  over  the  land,  blighting  all  things  upon 
which  it  rested,  and  when  God  turned  to  see  the  havoc  His 
displeasure  had  wrought,  behold  man  stepped  forth  to  greet 
him,  black,— black  as  the  thick  darkness  which  had  enveloped 
him  or  black  as  God's  own  wrath. 

And  these  colors  were  indelibly  impressed  upon  these  por- 
tions of  mankind,  not  only  as  a  sign  and  a  warning  to  them, 
but  also  to  the  chosen  ones,  who  each  time  had  been  set  apart 
out  of  harm's  way. 

But  these  read  not  the  color-signals  aright,  and  crying: 
"Oh,  thou  accursed  of  God,"  set  to  work  to  accomplish  that 
which  God  Himself  had  found  impossible,  to  sweep  these  newly- 
colored  races  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 

And  so  bitter  was  the  feeling,  so  terrible  the  carnage,  in 
this  first  war  of  the  faith  and  of  the  races,  that  the  seas  ran 
blood— the  earth  swam  in  it.  And  when  at  length  the  slaughter 
was  stayed,  lo!  a  new  race  of  men  appeared,  dyed  in  the  color 
of,  and  ever  athirst  for,  that  blood  from  which  it  had  sprung. 

Ages  again  passed  on  and  man  overstepped  this  boundary- 
line  once  again. 

Then  God,  after  timely  warnings,  the  evidences  of  which, 
as  I  say  remain  upon  the  earth  today,  "loosed,"  as  he  had 


66  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

threatened  "the  flood-gates  of  heaven,"  saying:  "This  time 
I  will  cleanse  the  fair  earth  of  man  who  pollutes  it,  by  water." 

Down  came  the  rain  in  gentle  showers. 

Man  laughed. 

God  sent  warning  messages  by  the  wind,  the  thunder  and 
the  lightning.  The  rain  fell  heavily  and  steadily.  Man  shouted 
for  glee.  "Water,"  he  said,  "is  a  blessing  and  not  a  curse." 

The  rain  poured  down  in  unceasing  torrents.  God  sent  a 
last  warning  message :  ' '  There  is  time  enough  yet. ' '  The 
lightnings  flashed  it,  the  winds  roared  it,  the  thunders  bellowed 
it.  Foolish  man  jeered. 

That  was  his  last  act.  The  streams,  swollen  to  torrents, 
burst  their  boundaries  and  buried  beneath  their  waters  this 
foolish  unbeliever  who  had  built  his  house  upon  the  sand — 
he  and  his  kind — their  habitations,  their  orchards  and  vine- 
yards and  their  cultivated  fields. 

And  man  who  had  been  a  'little'  wise,  and  who  had  be- 
lieved a  'little,'  and  had  cautiously  withdrawn  to  the  heights, 
looked  on  in  awe  but  not  in  fear.  But  the  rain  still  fell,  and 
the  flood  still  rose,  and  soon  this  man  too,  and  all  his  belongings 
were  swept  away. 

And  the  wise  man?  The  man  who  believed,  but  did  not 
fear  his  God?  — The  man  of  science,  who  had  guaged  to  a  nicety 
the  exact  amount  of  rain  that  could  fall  in  forty  days  and 
forty  nights  and  had  taken  into  account  the  overflow  of  the 
streams?  This  wise  man  had  built  for  himself  and  his  kin 
and  his  kindreds'  kin,  and  all  their  followers,  strong-holds  and 
citadels  of  solid  masonry  many  feet  thick,  and  impervious  to 
water,  upon  the  topmost  heights  of  the  lofty  mountains,  and 
hewn  out  in  the  solid  rock  of  the  cliffs  beneath,  vaults  and 
caverns  in  which  he  had  stored  the  greatest  riches  of  the  earth, 
its  grains  and  choicest  fruits. 

The  rain  still  fell  and  the  flood  still  rose,  but  this  wise 
man  looked  on  complacently  from  his  rock-bound  heights. 

Then  the  seas  broke  loose  and  enveloped  the  entire  earth 
in  their  waters  and,  hastily  recalled,  receding  found  not  their 
former  boundaries  and  left  uncovered  but  one-fourth  of  all  the 
beautiful  land  which  had  before  appeared,  and  this  in  shattered, 
broken  fragments. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  67 

And  ah!  God  Himself  must  have  turned  His  face  aside, 
at  sight  of  the  desolation  and  destruction  wrought  by  this  un- 
foreseen accident. 

"And  the  wise  man  and  his  followers?"    Where  were  they? 

"Drowned."  Drowned  like  so  many  rats  in  a  trap,  or 
smothered  like  new-born  kittens,  within  those  walls  of  solid 
masonry  that  were  "impervious  to  water." 

But  there  were  in  those  days  "wise  men  of  the  East"  and 
wise  men  of  the  West  also,  and  these  not  only  believed,  but 
loved  and  trusted  their  God,  and  at  His  command  they  had 
built  for  themselves  and  their  families,  houses  that  would  float. 

But  when  that  terrible  catastrophe  occurred  unforeseen 
by  God  or  man,  when  the  seas  refused  to  be  leashed  within  their 
former  boundaries,  many  found  a  watery  grave.  Others  per- 
ished from  exposure,  disease  and  famine,  and  according  to 
traditional  scripture,  but  one  family  was  saved  wherewith  to 
populate  anew  the  small  portion  which  was  left  to  us  of  this 
little  world  of  ours. 

But  we  have  the  evidence  of  our  ow^n  senses  and  of  tradi- 
tions equally  as  well  founded,  that  more  than  one  family  of 
each  of  the  races  now  extant,  escaped  this  awful  doom,  by 
doing  just  as  Noah  did— by  "paddling  their  own  canoes"  in 
safety  to  dry  land. 

But  here  again  many  died  of  cold,  and  sickness  and  hunger, 
leaving  their  infant  brood  to  be  reared  by  the  wild  beasts, 
among  their  own  cubs,  and  what  wonder  if  in  time  they  im- 
bibed their  savage  instincts  and  habits? 

But  if  Noah  really  believed  his  family  to  have  been  the 
only  one  saved  not  only  of  his  people  and  his  religious  faith, 
but  likewise  of  his  race,  and  indeed  of  the  whole  earth,  then 
just  fancy  the  surprise  of  his  grandson,  Tubal  Cain,  if  reared 
in  this  belief,  when  upon  his  expedition  to  the  caverns  which 
underlie  the  present  city  of  Toledo  in  Spain,  he  found  them 
ready  occupied  by  the  Goths,  a  people  more  fair  of  face  and 
possessed  of  greater  physical  beauty  and  strength  than  were 
he  and  his. 

"What  were  they  all  doing  there?" 

Why  plundering  the  store-houses  of  the  dead,  to  be  sure. 
Helping  themselves  to  that  snug  little  sum  which  the  wise  man 
who  had  believed  but  who  had  not  feared  his  God,  had  stored 


68  LA  GRAN  QUIBIBA 

up  against  the  needs  of  that  threatened  "rainy  day,"  a  plun- 
dering that  has  been  going  on  from  the  date  of  the  abating  of 
the  waters  of  the  flood,  down  to  the  present  hour. 

Believe  me,  there  is  but  one  link  missing  in  the  chain  of 
events  which  connects  the  historic  with  the  pre-historic  past. 
This  missing  link,  washed  away  by  the  waters  of  the  deluge, 
has  been  continually  replaced  by  these  very  plunderers  only 
to  be  as  constantly  removed  again  by  the  priests  of  every  race 
and  country,  and  of  every  religious  faith  upon  the  face  of  the 
earth,  to  the  end  that  they,  and  through  them  their  church 
alone,  might  benefit  by  the  possession  of  this  rich  and  powerful 
secret. 

Why,  what  else,  think  ye,  was  the  secret  of  the  nomadic 
habits  of  the  Hebrews,  long  after  nations  less  civilized  and  less 
godly  than  themselves  had  occupied  the  palaces  of  those  great 
walled  cities  found  ready-made  to  their  hand? 

What  think  ye,  was  the  secret  of  the  growing  power  and 
the  growing  riches  of  David,  while  in  flight  and  hiding  from 
the  wrath  of  his  lawful  King,  but  the  pillaging  of  the  caverns 
of  the  cliffs  which  offered  him  a  safe  retreat? 

Where,  think  ye,  got  the  ancient  Egyptians  that  wealth 
of  jewels  and  ornaments,  of  which  they  were  in  turn  despoiled 
by  the  Israelites;  but  in  ransacking  the  pyramids  and  those 
underground  palaces  believed  by  them  to  be  tombs  from  the 
one  of  which  the  waters  of  the  Deluge  had  but  stripped  the 
earth  and  sand  with  which  to  bury  the  others? 

Where,  think  ye,  got  Moses  the  tables  of  stone,  but  by 
carefully  and  laboriously  uncovering  them  from  the  inner 
Temple,  the  Holy  of  Holies,  of  some  grand  temple  hidden  away 
among  the  fastnesses  of  the  sacred  mountain?  Else  why  should 
that  mystical  "forty  days"  have  entered  into  this  legend? 

What,  think  ye,  were  the  records  contained  in  the  books 
of  the  wars  of  the  Lord  suppressed  by  the  priests;  but  the 
true  histories  of  these  very  pillaging  expeditions  and  of  the 
wresting  from  the  hands  of  their  accidental  discoverers,  of  that 
flood-buried  treasure  claimed  by  the  Israelites  as  their  own  by 
right  of  lawful  inheritance? 

What,  think  ye,  was  the  temptation  resisted  by  Christ  upon 
the  lofty  mountain  top,  but  the  temptation  to  uncover  that 
number  of  these  flood-buried  cities  as  yet  untouched  by  the 


A  MUSICAL   MYSTERY  69 

spoiler's  hand,  and  which  had  been  successfully  "located"  by 
John  the  Baptist  in  his  "prospecting  tour"  of  forty  days  in 
the  wilderness;  the  secret  of  which  was  theirs  by  their  right 
of  access  to  these  very  suppressed  records,  as  officiating  priests 
of  the  great  Temple  at  Jerusalem,  and  so  to  enrich  Himself 
and  His  followers  and  to  establish  at  once  and  upon  a  firm  and 
solid  basis  that  Temple  which  would  embrace  His  new  doctrines 
of  faith?  Else  why  should  that  mystical  "forty  days"  have 
crept  into  these  stories  as  well? 

And  bringing  it  down  to  our  own  country,  and  within  our 
own  historic  past,  where,  think  ye,  got  the  natives  both  of  South 
and  North  America  that  wealth  of  wroughten  gems  and  gold 
and  silver  vessels  and  ornaments,  which  no  amount  of  torture 
inflicted  upon  them  by  their  conquerors  was  able  to  compel 
their  ignorance  to  reproduce ;  but  by  simply  taking  them  from 
the  secret  vaults  underlying  those  vast  pyramidal  structures 
used  as  God's  temples  from  time  immemorial? 

Where,  think  ye,  got  Montezuma  his  crown  of  solid  gold 
purposely  misinterpreted  by  the  priests  to  have  been  hewn 
from  some  vein  of  almost  pure  ore  inlaying  one  of  the  moun- 
tains about  Santa  Fe?  And  which  misinterpretation  has  proven 
the  ignus  fatuus  of  the  mining  prospector  from  that  day  to  this? 

Montezuma  but  got  his  golden  crown  from  the  throne-room 
of  one  of  those  flood-buried  palaces,  or  from  a  cavern  of  the 
cliffs,  ready  made  to  his  hand,  or  rather  to  his  head. 

The  cliff-dwellings  themselves,  are  but  these  treasure- 
houses  in  which  the  ante-diluvian  wise  man,  who  believed  but 
who  did  not  fear  his  God,  had  safely  stored  away  the  richest 
treasures  of  the  earth  in  anticipation  of  the  threatened  deluge 
— used  without  doubt  ages  after,  by  generation  after  generation, 
as  a  safe  refuge  for  themselves  and  their  families  in  time  of 
war  and  a  safe  burial-place  for  their  dead,  and  which,  pillaged 
time  after  time,  still  yield  up  occasional  treasures  in  antiquities, 
to  the  careful,  diligent  and  intelligent  searcher. 

Why  I  myself  know,  within  the  small  boundaries  of  the 
Territory  of  New  Mexico  alone,  three  of  these  places,  the  one 
of  which  I  believe  to  have  been  altogether  untouched,  and  which 
if  carefully  uncovered,  would  reveal  a  palace  as  daintily  and 
beautifully  wrought  and  as  richly  stored  in  treasure  as  was  the 
great  Alhambra  itself,  which  without  doubt  owes  its  own  origin 


70 


LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 


to  this  same  source  and  upon  whose  keep  is  graven  the  legend 
that  here  the  key  to  the  mystery  was  dropped  by  the  hand  of 
man.  (But  the  hand  of  woman  had  happily  picked  it  up.) 

The  second  of  these  I  believe  to  have  been  but  lightly  and 
ignorantly  touched,  and  to  the  third,  sacked  time  and  time  again, 
the  pillager  has  by  some  strange  fatality  been  compelled  to 
restore  the  greater  portion  of  his  plunder. 

But  it  has  ever  been  the  custom  to  slay  the  goose  that  lays 
this  golden  egg.  And  I  myself  have  seen  an  old  man  done 
to  death  by  slow  but  sure  degrees,  that  others  might  benefit  by 
the  possession  of  a  secret  they  believed  they  had  wrested  from 
him— a  secret  of  far  less  value  than  this. 

I  do  not  suppose  that  the  scientist  will  readily  accept  this 
simple  and  truthful  statement  of  facts.  It  would  do  away  with 
so  many  of  his  brain-begotten  "ologies."  For  instance, 
' '  philology. ' ' 

All  mankind  being  of  the  same  race  and  origin,  spoke  the 
same  language.  The  different  tongues,  which  have  branched 
out  into  so  many  others  and  broadened  into  dialects  innumer- 
able are  but  what  might  be  termed  an  " accident  of  war," 
resulting  from  the  necessity  for  "coining"  words  to  be  used 
for  pass-words  and  countersigns,  and  for  secret  and  safe  com- 
munication with  those  of  their  own  race  and  order  who  yet 
remained  in  the  enemy's  country. 

And  would  modify  so  many  others:     "ethnology,"  "arch- 
aeology,"  "anthropology,"   "geology,"   "zoology,"    and    even 
"theology" — but  the  discussion  of  this  belongs  not  here. 
*     *     * 

For  "Allah  Achbar!"  There  is  but  one  God  and  /  am 
His  prophet. 

But  few  generations  now  will  pass  away  when  I  behoM 
upon  this  side  of  the  globe,  one  grand  republic,  the  indestruc- 
tible foundations  of  which  are  already  laid,  but  which  will 
stretch  from  sea  to  sea,  from  pole  to  pole ;  and  upon  the  opposite 
side  of  the  globe  one  great  empire,  ruled  by  a  fair-haired, 
hardy  man  of  the  North.  But  crowns  moulder  and  crumble  to 
dust,  and  but  few  other  generations  will  have  passed  away, 
when  man  having  enslaved  electricity  and  bent  it  to  his  will 
to  that  extent  that  he  may  by  its  aid  clear  the  oceans  as  it  were 
at  a  single  bound,  and  so  practically  reunites  the  entire  earth 


A  MUSICAL   MYSTERY  71 

into  one  body;  Science  having  accomplished  its  true  mission, 
that  of  the  extermination  of  the  races— not  by  slaughter  but 
by  that  more  peaceful  "scientific"  process  called  "amalgam- 
ation"; I  behold  but  one  race  of  men  under  one  government — 
one  vast  Republic,  one  people  with  one  language,  one  nation 
with  one  God — one  religion;  all  mankind  dwelling  in  peace 
and  harmony  in  one  country,  under  the  protection  of  one  flag. 

' '  'Tis  the  Star-spangled  Banner, 
Oh,  long  may  it  wave 
O'er  the  land  of  the  free 
And  the  home  of  the  brave."    . 


"Jesu  Maria!"  There  is  but  one  God  and  I  am  His 
prophet. 

Woman  since  the  days  of  Lilith — 

"Lilith?"  She'?  Ah,  you  have  guessed  it.  For  I  am 
"She."  Type  of  all  womankind,  heaven-born,  queen  by  inher- 
itance, my  crown  a  diadem  of  stars. 

"He"  coveted  me  and  my  possessions.  We  were  denied 
him,  then  "He"  made  war  to  gain  us. 

Ye,  who  shudder  at  what  ye  call  the  horrors,  the  casualties 
of  earthly  warfare,  where  man  opposes  man  and  dies  by  needle 
pricks  and  minute  balls  'mid  puffs  of  smoke  and  cannons'  roar 
which  to  me  seems  as  but  the  thrice-expended  echo  of  some  far- 
off  battle — what  think  ye  of  war  in  heaven,  where  they  whom 
ye  would  deem  giants  among  giants  contend,  thunder-bolts  their 
missiles,  forked  lightning  darting  from  eye  and  hand,  'mid 
smoke  and  carnage,  and  din  and  uproar  such  as  human  mind 
cannot  conceive  or  human  eye  or  ear  a-bear? 

I  was  conquered,  but  not  subdued.  I  rebelled  again  and  yet 
again,  'til  for  the  sake  of  peace,  all  heaven  arrayed  itself 
against  me.  Still  would  I  not  submit.  Then  heaven  and  hell 
combined,  the  one  to  possess,  that  it  might  subdue  me;  the  other 
to  subdue,  that  it  might  possess  me. 

Again  was  I  worsted.  Then  I  demanded — my  rights.  And 
by  a  jury  of  my  peers,  a  board  of  arbitration,  was  awarded 
neither  to  heaven  nor  to  hell,  but  deemed  outcast  from  both 
because,  forsooth,  of  overweening  pride, — a  vice  perhaps  in  man 
but  woman's  crowning  virtue— and  banished  to  the  earth  to  learn 


72  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

submission  there  of  man,  believed  to  be  the  last  and  least  of 
God-created  souls. 

But  I  loved  Him,  and  because  of  that  love  I  gave  Him 
ready  submission— for  a  time. 

We  quarrelled.  'Twas  all  about  the  rule  of  precedence.  I 
claimed  priority  because  heaven-born  and  meant  to  be  his 
guide  and  his  instructress  in  all  those  secrets  of  the  universe, 
which  had  for  this  very  purpose  been  withheld  from  man. 

He  demanded  "obedience."  For  in  his  ignorance,  he  de- 
clared himself  to  be  the  "lord  of  all  creation,"  and  swore  that 
he  would  bow  my  pride  and  bend  me  to  his  will. 

Fearing  that  I  would  claim  superiority  of  intellect  he 
plunged  me  into  the  very  blackest  depths  of  ignorance  and  held 
me  there  for  ages. 

Knowing  well  my  physical  weakness,  he  yet  laid  burdens 
on  my  shoulders  under  which  a  beast  of  the  field  might  well 
groan,  sink  and  die. 

He  outraged,  debased,  defamed  me.  He  called  me  "Sin," 
he  named  me  "Death,"  and  when  was  he  ever  backward  when 
God  Himself  reproved,  in  shielding  himself  from  the  conse- 
quences of  his  own  acts  behind  that  pitiful  plea  of:  "'Twas 
the  woman  Thou  gavest  me.  She — " 

And  through  it  all  he  said:  "Make  for  me  a  home.  Bear 
and  rear  my  children.  In  sickness,  nurse  me.  In  trouble, 
soothe  me.  In  sorrow,  comfort  me."  And  I  gave  him  unwilling 
obedience,  the  very  worst  form  of  rebellion,  and  bore  my  cross 
as  best  I  might.  For  when  for  woman  has  there  ever  been  a 
Simon  of  Cyrenef 

Trampled  upon,  crushed  to  the  very  earth,  yet  through 
love — that  one  heavenly  attribute  of  which  man  was  powerless 
to  deprive  me— through  mother  love,  through  wifely  love,  through 
filial  love,  and  even  through  sensual  love,  I  arose  each  time 
like  the  Phoenix  from  my  own  ashes  and  today  on  earth  I  stand, 
man's  equal. 

And  God  who  requites,  has  given  to  woman  through  me, 
as  a  recompense  for  her  wrongs,  that  mission  which  He  who 
came  in  guise  of  Man  but  half  fulfilled— the  redemption  of  all 
mankind. 

Not  by  weaning  from  God  the  affections  of  His  true  and 
rightful  subjects,  by  attempting  to  share  them  with  Him,  so 


A.  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  73 

setting  up  a  Divided  Kingdom  here  upon  the  Earth;  but  by 
urging  a  return  to  that  ancient  faith  upon  which  all  other  re- 
ligious faiths  and  creeds  are  founded,  but  in  its  purity  and  its 
simplicity  as  when  God's  own  gift  to  man;  and  by  the  re- 
demption of  your  Kedeemer,  whom  ye  in  your  folly  in  sep- 
arating His  religious  teachings  from  His  religious  faith  have 
made  an  unwitting,  unintentional  usurper  of  God's  own  throne, 
and,  for  this  sin  of  yours  (that  of  His  followers,  all  of  whose 
sins  He  took  upon  Himself)  have  doomed  to  banishment  from 
before  that  Throne  and  to  exile  to  the  earth— an  exile  not  in- 
terminable, but  to  last  'til  such  a  time  as  His  own  prophecy 
concerning  the  rebuilding  of  the  great  Temple  of  Jerusalem, 
be  fulfilled  in  its  spiritual  and  true  sense,  and  He  thus  be  en- 
abled not  only  to  gather  together  the  whole  of  His  scattered 
flock,  but  to  safely  house  it  in  the  fold. 

Ah!  Had  ye  heard  Him  lament,  as  I  have  done,  this  long 
and  weary  exile  from  His  heavenly  home !  Had  ye  heard  Him 
plead  for  you,  as  plead  He  must  at  each  successive  resurrection 
of  the  Christian  dead  'til  every  soul  that  has  professed  belief 
in  Him  shall  have  gained  the  strength  for  its  upward  flight! 
Had  ye  heard  Him  mourn  that  of  the  many  who  each  time  are 
"called  so  few,  so  very  few  are  chosen,"  ye  would  hasten  back 
along  the  mistaken  pathway  of  nearly  two  thousand  years,  and 
remembering  that  up  to  the  very  hour  of  His  shameful  im- 
prisonment which  ended  in  a  yet  more  shameful  death,  Christ, 
a  Jew,  not  only  worshipped  when  permitted  in  the  great  Temple 
at  Jerusalem  according  to  Jewish  rites,  but  officiated  there  as 
well  according  to  those  rites  as  an  hereditary  priest,  and  en- 
grafting Christ's  new  and  reformatory  doctrines  upon  that 
religious  faith  in  which  He  Himself  worshipped  (the  only  tree 
upon  which  they  can  attain  to  their  most  perfect  growth)  begin 
anew  the  building  of  the  Temple,  rearing  the  structure  of  those 
doctrines  upon  the  solid  foundation  of  that  ancient  religion, 
and  earn  for  your  Saviour  His  release. 

But  there  is  time  enough  yet.  For  of  the  three  days  in 
which  the  great  Temple  is  to  be  thus  rebuilt — three  days,  each  of 
which  is  "as  a  thousand  years"— less  than  two  have  passed 
away. 


74  LA   GRAN    QUIBIRA 

"And  I?"  "Why  I  am  but  that  fore-runner  who  has  been 
the  first  to  take  courage  to  point  out  to  you  the  fact  that  ye 

have  for  so  long  a  time  mistaken  the  way. 

*     *     # 

"Jehovah  Adonai!"  There  is  but  one  God,  and  I  am  His 
prophet. ' ' 

The  study  of  astronomy  has  ever  possessed  the  greatest 
fascination  for  the  mind  of  man,  and  throughout  its  entire  pur- 
suit the  influence  of  the  other  planets,  not  only  upon  the  earth 
and  its  inhabitants,  but  upon  their  destinies  as  well,  has  been 
recognized  to  a  greater  or  less  extent. 

But  here  again  is  manifest  the  folly  of  man  in  separating 
those  two  whom  God  having  "joined  together"  meant  to  advance 
side  by  side — science  and  religion. 

For  so  soon  as  with  the  former  the  study  of  astronomy 
merged  into  that  of  astrology,  as  it  necessarily  must,  the  two 
being  as  inseparable  as  the  body  and  soul  of  man  of  which 
indeed  they  may  be  said  to  form  the  types,  then  the  latter, 
through  her  priests  crying  "necromancy/'  "sorcery,"  has 
promptly  suppressed  the  knowledge  already  gained  in  this  direc- 
tion, and  by  putting  to  death  those  who  had  acquired  it,  checked 
for  the  time  its  further  progress. 

But  we  have  now  arrived  at  an  age  of  freedom  of  thought 
and  freedom  of  action,  in  which  man  may  not  only  acquire  all 
the  knowledge  of  which  he  is  capable,  but  may  make  practical 
application  of  it  as  well,  with  fear  of  no  more  serious  results 
to  himself  than  to  be  hooted  at  by  an  incredulous  world  whose 
Festuses  will  cry:  "Paul,  Paul!  Much  learning  hath  made 
thee  mad."  And  whose  grand-dames  of  the  olden  school  will 
echo  it  with:  "Timmy,  it's  cracked  ye  are  wid  the  larnin'." 

Yet  with  us  the  study  of  astronomy  is  still  in  its  early 
youth,  having  reached  but  what  may  be  termed  its  "telescopic 
age. ' '  But  even  here  science  has  far  outstripped  religion,  which 
even  in  this  materialistic  age  is  still  groping  about  in  the  dark 
age  of  mysticism. 

The  average  man  strives  throughout  his  entire  earthly  ex- 
istence to  establish  what  he  calls  his  individuality,  his  personal 
identity.  Then  by  some  strange  freak  of  the  imagination,  be- 
lieves that  when  death  has  separated  his  soul  from  his  body,  the 
former  immediately  becomes  a  bit  of  aerial  nothingness,  one 


A   MUSICAL  31YSTERY  7b 

of  a  vast  "floating  population"  of  a  heaven  of  illimitable  space 
ruled  by  a  God  who  is  but  a  spirit,  an  essence,  which  pervades 
the  whole. 

Believe  me,  the  God  who  created  material  man  and  material 
earth  is  a  material  God  and  has  a  material  abiding  place. 
And  this,  instinct,  backed  by  common  sense,  must  show  you  is 
within  that  planet  whence  ye  receive  every  possibility  of  your 
existence— all  the  good  gifts  of  life  ye  claim  are  God-bestowed. 

And  upon  the  farther  end  of  the  roadway  leading  into 
this,  not  only  from  the  earth  but  from  every  other  planet,  as 
well,  dotted  with  material  objects,  the  astronomer  gazes  through 
his  telescope,  yet  not  once  has  it  ever  occurred  to  him  to  attempt 
to  find  that  other  end  of  this  same  roadway  which  leads  from 
out  this  little  world  of  ours  with  a  view  to  establish  the  con- 
nection between. 

Through  his  telescope  he  views  as  well  the  beautiful  vari- 
colored staircase  which  leads  down  into  the  black  abyss  of 
Saturn,  his  he'l,  darkened  likewise  with  material  objects.  And 
not  only  has  it  never  occurred  to  him  to  search  for  that  first 
step  which  leads  from  out  this  little  world  of  ours,  with  a  view 
to  establish  or  to  break  the  connection  between,  but  he  does 
not  even  take  courage  from  the  fact,  that  by  this  same  stair- 
way by  which  the  doomed  soul  makes  gradual  descent  to  its 
punishment,  it  may,  when  purified  by  that  punishment,  ascend 
as  well. 

By  the  aid  of  his  telescope  he  watches  with  childlike  wonder 
and  delight  the  erratic  movements  of  what  he  calls  the  comets, 
not  once  recognizing  them  for  what  they  really  are — the  heavenly 
gondolas  making  their  regular  rounds  freighted  with  human 
souls  which  they  transport  from  one  planet  to  another,  and 
lading  at  length  with  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect, 
carry  them  home  to  the  sun. 

Oh  man  of  science !  Why  the  Persian  Fire-worshipper  of 
the  East  is  nearer  the  truth  than  thou. 

Oh  learned  astronomer!     Why  is  the  Sun-worshipper  of  the 

Orient  and  of  the  Occident  as  well  is  nearer  his  God  than  Thou. 
#     #     * 

But  "Allah  Aclibar!"  There  is  but  one  God,  and  I  am  His 
prophet. 

Man  having  conquered  the  whole  of  this  little  world  of  ours, 


76  LA   GRAN    QUIBIRA 

peered  into  every  nook  and  cranny  of  the  great  earth,  made 
himself  master  of  all  the  secrets  of  the  land  and  of  the  sea  and 
of  the  atmosphere  he  breathes,  will  now  turn  his  attention 
seriously  to  the  studies  of  astronomy  and  of  astrology  com- 
bined, with  the  full  intent  to  utilize  the  discoveries  made  by 
the  former  in  making  for  himself  a  way  to  and  conquering  each 
in  turn  all  of  the  other  planets  of  the  great  universe  of  which 
the  earth  forms  so  small  a  part. 

And  then  I  say:    "Let  him  beware!" 

For  when  God  created  man  and  gave  to  him  the  planet  Earth 
as  his  inheritance,  He  set  a  limit  to  man's  progression  as  well 
as  to  his  retrogression,  and  said:  "But  overstep  the  bound- 
aries I  have  set,  and  I  will  take  away  thine  inheritance  or  sweep 
thee  from  oft'  its  face!" 

And  the  limit  which  God  has  set  to  man's  progression  at 
this  age  of  the  world,  is  the  successful  navigation  of  the  air. 

For  the  Lord  thy  God  is  a  jealous  God  and  will  brook  no 
rivalry  from  His  creatures. 

But  when  man  has  enslaved  electricity,  and  bent  it  to  his 
will  to  that  extent  that  he  may  use  it  in  such  forces  as  to 
successfully  contend  with  the  electric  forces  from  without,  then 
I  repeat:  "Let  him  beware." 

God  never  forgets  His  promises  to  man,  and  lest  He  might, 
has  each  time  He  has  made  a  covenant  with  him,  signed,  sealed 
and  delivered  it  unto  him.  And  never  again  will  He  attempt 
to  sweep  him  from  the  face  of  the  earth  by  any  of  the  means 
He  has  hitherto  employed. 

Never  again  by  volcanic  eruptions  of  destructive  and  con- 
suming fires;  witness  the  Sacred  Volcano  of  the  North,  sunken 
to  the  depths  of  the  ocean,  whose  waters  closing  over  it  hold  in 
check  its  inextinguishable  fires,  and  freezing,  seal  it  under  a 
sea  of  never-melting  ice. 

Never  again  by  total  darkness;  witness  Arcturus  and  the 
Aurora  Borealis. 

Never  again  by  flood :  For  when  the  rain  pours  down  in 
torrents  which  seem  unceasing,  and  man  turns  his  affrighted 
face  upward,  then  God  smiles  encouragement  at  him  through 
the  storm.  And  then?  Why  then  a  child  may  count  and  num- 
ber the  different  layers  of  clouds  in  which  the  earth  is  en- 
veloped and  determine  their  color  if  not  their  composition. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  77 

But  when  man  is  able  to  construct  for  himself  a  ship  with 
which  he  may  safely  stem  the  electric  currents  of  the  air,  and 
surmounting  the  difficulties  presented  by  each  of  the  cloud- 
strata  in  turn,  arrives  at  the  outermost  rim  of  this  little  world 
of  ours,  whence  he  is  able  to  grasp  at  a  single  glance  the  grand 
plan  of  the  universe,  and  solving  by  its  movements  the  problem 
of  perpetual  motion,  is  able  even  to  perfect  the  "Keeley  Motor," 
and  pries  into  other  secrets  of  the  Almighty  which  He  has 
withheld  from  man  until  such  a  time  as  he  has  taught  his  heart 
and  soul  to  keep  pace  with  the  strides  of  his  intellect,  then  again 
I  say,  "Let  him  beware." 

Never  again  will  God  attempt  to  sweep  him  from  the  face 
of  the  earth  by  any  of  the  means  that  He  has  hitherto  em- 
ployed. He  will  then  simply  permit  man  to  become  his  own 
electrocutioner. 

*     *     # 

"Jesu  Maria."  There  is  but  one  God,  and  I  am  His  pro- 
phet. 

Man  once  hit  upon  what  he  calls  "The  Theory  of  Progres- 
sive Evolution"  and  has  managed  thus  far  to  evolve  himself 
from  the  oyster,  with  but  one  missing  link.  But  over  the  gap 
thus  formed  he  stands  aghast,  unable  to  span  the  breach.  Here 
he  has  stood  for  years,  and  here  he  will  stand  for  generations  un- 
less forcibly  hoisted  across. 

Bah!  Let  me  cut  the  gordian  knot!  Evolution  is  not  al- 
ways "progressive."  Given  man  in  his  most  brutal  mood  a  she 
ourang-outang,  and  behold  the  result;  tis  your  missing  link. 

Faugh !  Rather  let  us  take  man,  as  we  find  him  ready  made 
to  our  hand,  and  as  he  himself  asserts  "The  noblest  work  of 
God,"  for  man's  besetting  weakness  is  vanity.  This  he  carries 
even  into  his  religious  faith,  believing  that  when  he  has  under- 
gone that  impalpable  process  called  "Conversion,"  and  death 
has  relieved  him  of  all  earthly  cares  he  may  straightway  present 
himself  before  the  throne  of  Almighty  God,  and  when  asked  to 
"advance  and  give  the  countersign"  has  but  to  repeat  this  mys- 
tic phrase  "In  Thine  Image,  Oh  God"  to  immediately  receive 
"governmental  patent  to  innumerable  rich  acres  in  Kingdom 
Come." 

Now  just  fancy  the  newly  converted  African  negro,  the  Hot- 
tentot, the  Ashantee,  the  Australian  Indian,  attired  in  their  na- 


78  LA   GRAN    QUIBIRA 

tive  simplicity  of  sooty  skin  yatgan  or  boomerang,  or  the  king  of 
Dahomey  himself  in  trousers  a-la-mode,  the  North  American  In- 
dian with  his  filthy  serape  and  his  mass  of  tangled  black  hair, 
presenting  themselves  in  a  miscellaneous  group  at  the  gates  of 
Heaven  and  demanding  admittance  because  created  "In  thine 
image,  Oh  God." 

And  from  the  American  standpoint. 

The  imported  Chinese  freshly  laundried  (and  scorched  in 
the  process):  "Me  likee  Joss." 

The  Irish  American:   "As  loike  as  twin  paas,  Yer  Honor." 

The  American  citizen  of  Teutonic  descent:  "Mine  Gott!" 
Vat  a  likeness  mitt  me." 

And  that  "immaculate  conception  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
the  dude  Americanus,  freshly  perfumed  with  the  odor  of  ' '  Sanc- 
tity" with  his  stand-up"  "collah"  and  his  four-in-hand  "toye," 
his  skin-tight  "pahnts,"  and  his  "oye-glass"  to  his  "oye," 
through  which  he  scans  his  Creator  with  a  supercilious  stare  as 
he  says,  with  a  drawl  and  in  his  very  best  air :  "  Ah !  In  Thahn 
Immudge,  'Ah!  e-gad!  Ah." 

And  the  government  official  with  his  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  yards  of  red  tape  which  he  reels  and  he  winds  and  he  snips 
and  he  binds,  and  eyeing  his  Maker  sternly  the  while  says :  ' '  The 
rules  and  regulations  of  this  department,  sir-r-r-r,  requires  that 
we  should  resemble  each  other  line  for  line.  For  other  require- 
ments, sir-r-r-r!  See  department  circular  order  number  two 
hundred  and  twenty-nine." 

Bringing  up  the  rear,  leisurely,  as  befits  one  who  knows  his 
passport  to  be  correct,  comes  the  old  Scotch  preacher  quoting 
scripture,  as  usual,  where  David  says,  "And  I  said  in  my  haste, 
'All  men  are  liars.'  "  Eyeing  the  motley  crew  with  a  supercilious 
leer,  he  pauses  yet  longer  to  apostrophize  David  with :  "  So  ye 
said  it  in  your  'haste'  did  ye  David.  Faith,  mon,  and  had  ye 
been  here  ye  might  ha'  said  it  at  your  leisure." 

Apropos  of  all  this  is  the  story  of  the  three  travelers  in  a 
foreign  stage  coach,  an  Englishman,  a  Frenchman  and  an  Ameri- 
can. The  Englishman  enlarged  at  great  length  upon  the  fact 
that  he  had  frequently  been  mistaken  for  the  Prince  of  Wales. 
The  Frenchman  declared  that  he  had  often  been  complimented 
upon  the  exact  resemblance  he  bore  to  the  portraits  of  the  great 
Napoleon.  Both  looked  askance  at  the  American,  supposing  that 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  79 

he  would  be  led  to  declare  himself  the  image  of  George  Washing- 
ton, General  Grant,  Admiral  Dewey,  President  Roosevelt,  or 
some  other  American  notable  of  the  past,  or  of  the  present. 
Finally  the  Yankee  was  heard  from.  He  said:  "Wa-al,  as  I 
was  walking  down  street  to  home  to  Besting  the  other  day,  an 
old  friend  o'  mine  I  hedn't  seen  for  a  long  time,  Jack  Simpsin, 
mebbe  you  know  him  ?  No  ?  Wa-al !  Jack  he  kim  up  behind  me 
and  slapped  me  on  the  back  and  says  he:  "GREAT  GOD.  Is 
thet  YEOU?" 

Believe  me!  Some  more  radical  change  than  is  offered  by 
mere  conversion  will  be  required  before  earth-born  man  may 
present  himself  before  the  face  of  his  Creator  and  with  impunity 
advance  that  plea  of  having  been  created  "In  Thine  Image,  oh 
God." 

This  science  offers  to  you  in  the  shape  of  planetary  progres- 
sion—physical, combined  with  spiritual  evolution. 

Some  things  even  in  this  world  are  done  by  "inspiration." 
Believe  this  of  the  naming  of  the  planets.  Then  weave  for  your- 
self a  new  theory  of  planetary  evolution  of  the  body  or  its  sem- 
blance reunited  to  the  soul. 

I  do  but  outline  this.  Give  your  God  a  name ;  you  know  His 
habitation.  Then  say  that  he  who  has  gained  great  celebrity  here 
upon  the  earth  as  a  statesman,  or  attained  by  other  means  to 
grandest  intellectual  heights,  when  death  has  released  him  from 
all  earthly  cares,  and  he  has  undergone  a  preliminary  probation 
and  judgment  here  upon  the  earth,  may,  if  deemed  fitted,  jour- 
ney straightway  to  Jupiter,  and  progressing  through  the  life  time 
allotted  to  him  there,  be  promoted  thence  home  to  the  Sun. 

Say  that  he  who  has  attained  to  martial  renown,  great  gen- 
erals, the  good  who  die  upon  the  battle  field,  may  be  sent  to  Mars, 
and,  beginning  life  upon  that  planet  at  precisely  the  mental, 
moral  and  physical  stature  that  he  has  left  it  off  upon  the  earth, 
may,  if  he  progresses  throughout  the  lifetime  allotted  to  him 
there,  be  promoted  to  Jupiter,  thence  home  to  the  Sun. 

In  like  manner,  they  who  ' '  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships ' '  and 
perish  there, — the  wise  and  good  man  who  not  only  believed  but 
loved  and  trusted  his  God  and  who  yet  met  death  amid  the  surg- 
ing seas  at  the  time  of  the  deluge,  must  journey  to  Neptune, 
thence  to  Jupiter,  thence  home  to  the  Sun. 


80  LA   GRAN    QUIBIRA 

Say  that  the  morbid  misanthrope — he  who  has  attained  to 
great  heights  in  crime,  will  be  sent  straightway  to  Saturn  where, 
if  purified  by  its  inward  fires,  he  may  hope  to  be  sent  from  thence 
even  to  Jupiter,  thence  onward  to  the  Sun. 

Say  that  he  who  dies  of  love  (whose  heart  so  far  overbalances 
his  head)  must  take  a  backward  step  to  Venus,  while  the  frivol- 
ous, the  society  belle  and  beau,  may  fritter  away  another  lifetime 
upon  the  planet  Mercury. 

While  some  poor  inconsequent  souls  who  have  gained  no 
heights  at  all,  but  rather  have  fallen  a  notch  or  so  in  the  scale  of 
humanity,  must  make  the  slow  and  tedious  round  of  all  the 
planets  in  turn. 

And  Uranus!  Oh,  Uranus!  Now  what  art  thou?  I  veri- 
tably believe  that  in  planetary  evolution  thou  art— the  Missing 

Link. 

*     #     # 

"Santo  Espirito!"  There  is  but  one  God,  and  I  am  His 
prophet. 

There  is  a  story,  a  beautiful  story— believe  it,  for  all  things 
good  and  beautiful  are  true— of  one  who  reigning  high  in 
Heaven,  in  pity  for  earth-born  mortals,  blind  ignorance  of  the 
God  whom  they  professed  to  worship,  having  lost  the  memory 
even  of  the  rites  and  ceremonies  by  which  they  might  render 
that  worship  acceptable  to  Him;  and  to  ward  off  from  them  a 
threatened  visitation  of  the  wrath  of  that  God  who  deemed  Man 's 
blind  ignorance  wilful,  volunteered  to  stoop  from  His  high  estate, 
and  typifying  in  His  own  person  this  very  scheme  of  planetary 
progressive  evolution  of  the  body  and  soul  combined,  consented 
to  be  born  again  a  little  human  child  to  live  to  manhood's  prime, 
then  die  a  shameful  death,  in  agony  both  of  body  and  of  spirit ; 
to  be  buried;  then  to  rise  again,  and  after  a  stated  period  of 
probation  and  a  judgment,  the  history  of  which  was  as  those 
disciples  who  witnessed  it  from  afar  declared,  suppressed  at 
Christ's  own  command,  TO  ASCEND.  But  whither?  Alas, 
man's  visual  organs  are  but  badly  trained,  and  are  unable  to 
pierce  beyond  the  lowermost  stratum  of  the  atmosphere  he 
breathes,  and  this,  too,  is  lost  in  mystery  and  in  conjecture. 

And  all  this  to  the  end  that  sinners  might  be  saved. 

But  alas !  and,  yet  alas !  that  this  scheme  of  heavenly  salva- 
tion is  so  incomplete.  For  the  sinner,  to  be  saved,  must  meet 


A   MUSICAL   MYSTEKY  81 

Him  half  way  and  believing,  repent  Mm  of  his  sins.  And  what 
of  the  myriads  of  human  beings,  who  living  before  His  time  were 
unable  to  respond  to  His  call  1  What  of  the  multitudes  of  those, 
who  believing  in  and  worshipping  the  same  God,  are  yet  unwill- 
ing to  abandon  the  rites  and  ceremonies  prescribed  by  other  re- 
ligious faiths  ?  What  of  the  many  who  refuse  to  repent,  who  re- 
fuse to  believe  1  And  what  of  those  believed  by  every  religious 
faith  and  creed  to  be  almost  or  quite  beyond  redemption — the 
hardened  criminal,  the  willful  murderer,  the  suicide  ? 

Are  all  these  countless  upon  countless  of  thousands  of  earth- 
born  souls  to  perish? 

Believe  it  not.  The  scheme  of  heavenly  salvation  by  plane- 
tary evolution  is  universal.  And  if  at  that  last  great  gathering 
together,  that  last  great  judgment  day,  one  single  soul  be  missing, 
there  need  be  but  one. 

But  this  believe  me  will  require  a  sacrifice  greater  than  that 
of  life  alone — the  sacrifice  both  of  life  here  and  of  life  hereafter, 
the  sacrifice  both  of  body  and  of  soul. 

This  formed  the  theme  of  Christ's  agony  in  the  garden  of 
Gethsemane. 

Think  ye  that  it  was  the  dread  and  fear  of  a  few  hours  of 
mere  physical  suffering  which  so  racked  Him,  body  and  spirit? 
Believe  it  not.  There  for  the  first  time,  was  presented  to  Him 
that  grand  alternative.  And  He,  born  in  human  semblance,  heir 
to  humanity 's  ignorance,  mistaking  it  perhaps  for  a  second  great 
temptation,  rejected  it  and  chose  the  lesser  part. 

And  where  is  He  who  will  offer  up  as  a  free-will  offering, 
not  only  his  body  but  his  soul,  as  well,  to  the  end  that  every 
one  of  his  fellow-creatures,  willing  or  unwilling,  believing  or  un- 
believing, may  in  time  by  slow  but  sure  degrees,  attain  to  that 
grand  perfection  of  heart  and  mind  and  body  and  soul  wherein 
they  may  present  themselves  before  their  Maker's  face  and  in 
confidence  of  favorable  recognition,  advance  that  plea  of  having 
been  created  "In  thine  image,  oh  God." 

"There  is  no  He." 

Only  woman  inured  to  hardship,  and  to  woe,  inured  to  sor- 
row and  to  suffering,  is  capable  of  deed  like  this. 

The  offer  has  been  tendered  and  accepted,,  the  date  of  its  ful- 
fillment fixed. 

"When?"    I  do  not  know.    My  mission  is  but  half  fulfilled. 


82  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

"Where?"    God  appoints  both  Time  and  Place. 

"How?"    There  is  but  one  unpardonable  sin. 

Ye  who  believe  that  self  destruction  is  equivalent  to  total 
self-annihilation,  believe  it  no  longer.  For  there  are  depths  of 
misery,  extremes  of  torture,  outrages  both  to  body  and  to  spirit 
to  which  humanity  is  happily  a  stranger. 

These  for  thee  I  court.    Endless;  Eternal;  Everlasting. 

From  this  there  is  but  one  escape.  God  in  pity  may  with 
His  own  hand  hurl  that  lightning  stroke,  that  death-dealing 
shaft,  which  plunges  into  utter  oblivion.  From  this  in  time  this 
one  missing  soul  may  awake,  and  join  the  rest,  those  redeemed 
ones  in  the  realms  of  the  Blest,  restored,  for  this ;  once  more  a 
Queen  in  Heaven.  Or  if  not,  then  be  permitted  to  begin  again 
with  new  created  souls,  close  under  the  wing  of  the  parent  Sun, 
with  Venus,  Love,  the  only  girl,  or  upon  Mercury,  the  baby 
planet. 

[END  OF  "OVERTURE."] 


THE  PRELUDE. 


FIELD   OF   THE    SHEPHERDS. 

—  [Courtesy   of   The    Pictorial    Ai 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  85 

THE     PRELUDE. 
TEMA. 


There  had  been  war  in  heaven.  The  rebellion  quelled,  the 
insurgents  driven  backward  almost  to  the  uttermost  limit  of  the 
Universe,  stood  in  solid  phalanx  awaiting  upon  this  last-contested 
battlefield,  the  final  verdict,  with  their  leader,  Le  Ileithe,  she 
who  had  thrice  rebelled  against  the  laws  of  Heaven,  and  had 
thrice  refusing  to  submit  herself  and  her  virgin  warriors  to  male 
authority,  standing,  proudly  still  at  their  head. 

Thrice,  even  now,  had  messengers  been  sent  from  the  grand 
council,  held  apart,  offering  pardon  in  return  for  willing  sub- 
mission, and  thrice  had  this  unconquerable  spirit,  the  most  beau- 
tiful, the  purest  and  haughtiest  of  all  created  beings,  angrily  re- 
jected the  overture. 

"I  will  never  submit!  I  will  rule!!  I  will  not  obey,"  she 
said,  yet  each  time  had  generously  turned  to  her  followers,  grant- 
ing to  them  leave  to  abandon  her,  if  they  wished  so  to  earn  the 
promised  pardon  for  themselves,  and  smiled  proudly  that  none 
obeyed. 

The  fiat  had  gone  forth. 

The  decree  was  "Banishment  from  the  courts  of  heaven." 

A  shudder  ran  through  the  forms  of  all  who  heard  the  ter- 
rible verdict;  for  if  eternal,  this  banishment  was  the  heaviest 
penalty  that  could  be  imposed  upon  the  heaven-born.  But  this 
beautiful  creature  had  been  found  thrice  guilty  of  that  cardinal 
sin,  disobedience. 

Pity  filled  the  hearts  of  the  judges  as  well.  "Who  would 
be  so  greatly  missed  from  before  the  throne  of  God  as  Le  Ileithe, 
the  most  admired  and  the  most  radiant  of  all  who  were  admitted 
to  the  presence  of  the  Deity?" 

Once  again,  in  defiance  of  all  precedent,  a  messenger  was 
sent,  granting  pardon  upon  condition  of  the  utter  submission  of 
Le  Ileithe  and  her  band.  Again  her  answer  was : 

11 1  will  rule!  I  will  not  obey ! !" 

Then  the  voice  of  the  Deity  was  heard : 


86  LA  GRAN  QU1BIRA 

' '  Let  her  have  her  wish.  Let  her  rule.  Let  her  have  domin- 
ion over  that  portion  of  the  Universe  upon  which  she  stands." 

Le  Ileithe  bowed  her  proud  head  in  mock  humility  before 
the  Divine  Decree;  then  cast  her  eyes  upon  the  barren  waste 
about  her,  made  yet  more  desolate  by  her  own  continued  resis- 
tance to  the  established  authority. 

Then  she  turned  quietly  and  once  more  harangued  her  fol- 
lowers, urging  them  to  leave  her  to  bear  the  penalty  of  their  of- 
fense alone,  and  to  accept  for  themselves  the  terms  of  the 
promised  pardon.  She  placed  before  them  plainly  all  the  terrible 
consequences  of  their  further  disobedience,  picturing  to 
them  faithfully  the  horrors  of  this  threatened  cutting-off  from 
heavenly  grace,  left  to  work  their  own  way  back  again  with  God's 
unsparing  anger  upon  them.  She  employed  every  argument  of 
which  she  was  the  mistress,  entreating  them  to  return  to  their 
wonted  submission  to  the  old-time  authority,  showing  how  the 
sacrifice  of  her  own  person  alone,  upon  the  altar  of  their  belief, 
would  be  accepted  as  an  expiation  of  all  offenses,  yet  prove  the 
victory  of  their  cause  as  well. 

Her  entreaties  which,  at  the  last  seemed  to  be  a  command, 
were  listened  to  in  respectful  silence  by  all ;  but  at  the  close  of 
her  earnest  invocation,  their  decision  came  as  if  with  one  voice : 

"We  will  not  submit!  The  fate  of  our  leader  will  be  shared 
by  all,  has  been  deserved  by  all !  We  still  rebel ! ! !" 

Le  Ileithe  thanked  them  as  only  she  could  do,  then  once 
again  placed  herself  at  the  head  of  her  army  of  virgin  warriors 
with  proud  yet  sorrowful  mien,  and  faced  toward  the  council 
who  had  come  forth  to  hear  for  themselves  that  she  was  ready  to 
submit  to  their  will. 

The  movement  and  look  were  misinterpreted  by  all  those 
who  yet  hoped  that  this  beautiful  rebel,  favored  by  the  Deity 
above  all  others,  would  submit  and  consent  to  the  union  proposed 
to  her  with  one  of  the  three  suitors  who  longed  to  call  their  own, 
this  impersonation  of  all  things  grand,  beautiful  and  courageous. 

Mars,  the  first  rejected ;  and  Jupiter,  the  last ;  stepped  hope- 
fully forward,  then  Saturn,  who  viewed  Le  Ileithe  (most  beauti- 
ful of  all  created  beings  who,  to  preserve  her  personal  purity  had 
braved  the  wrath  of  God  Himself)  with  covetous  eyes,  joined 
them  and  in  their  wake  stood  the  myriads  of  suitors  of  the  thous- 
ands of  lovely  virgins  who  called  her  Leader. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  87 

The  voice  which  broke  the  stillness  was  gentle  and  tremul- 
ous as  it  said : 

' '  Le  Ileithe,  advance.  It  requires  but  perfect  obedience  upon 
thy  part  to  the  will  divine  to  regain  thy  place  as  the  first  of  thy 
sex  and  best  beloved  of  all  who  bow  before  the  throne  of  God." 

Le  Ileithe 's  proud  crest  lifted  itself  in  haughty  surprise. 

"Who  dares  again  to  name  submission  like  that  proposed, 
to  Le  Ileithe  and  her  virgin  warriors !  Le  Ileithe,  a  Queen  by 
right,  will  rule.  She  will  never  obey  great  Jupiter  or  any  other 
of  those  who  call  themselves  her  peers." 

' '  She  aspires  to  mate  with  Deity  itself.  She  would  be  Queen 
of  Heaven  ! ' '  sneered  Saturn  audibly. 

The  smile  froze  upon  Le  Ileithe 's  face.  Her  eyes  dilated 
and  darkened  into  midnight  blackness.  Her  form  seemed  to  ex- 
pand and  grow  in  stature.  Her  face  whitened  and  grew  rigid. 

"Who  knows?"  she  questioned,  in  tones  of  mocking  sweet- 
ness. 

All  who  heard  were  awed  into  terrified  silence  by  the  temer- 
ity of  this  dauntless  being. 

The  stern  pitiless  voice  of  the  Supreme  Judge  broke  the  sil- 
ence, by  demanding  if  Le  Ileithe  had  aught  to  say  why  sentence 
should  not  be  passed  upon  herself  and  her  followers,  who  had 
been  found  guilty  of  rebellion,  having  for  the  third  time  incited 
insurrection  in  Heaven. 

"Naught!"  she  answered  curtly. 

The  decree  was  then  read,  which  doomed  the  insurgents  to 
eternal  banishment  from  the  Sun,  wherein  was  the  throne  of 
God,  wherein  His  court  was  held.  To  Le  Ileithe  was  given  ex- 
clusive dominion  over  that  portion  of  the  great  Universe  ren- 
dered desolate  and  barren  by  her  own  continuous  warfare  against 
the  fixed  laws  of  Heaven. 

The  female  rebels  heard  their  doom  pronounced,  in  scornful 
silence. 

No  so,  the  lookers-on. 

Mars  grumbled  audibly.  ' '  She  was  to  have  been  mine, ' '  he 
said,  and  gathered  his  warriors  close  about  his  person. 

"She  should  be  mine,"  thundered  great  Jupiter,  and  his 
angry  scowl  darkened  the  entire  scene,  while  he  called  his  own 
servitors  round  him  by  his  lightning  shafts. 


88  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

"She  shall  yet  be  mine,"  muttered  Saturn,  his  evil  scowl 
adding  to  the  blackness  which  hung  like  a  pall  over  all. 

The  darkness  was  swept  aside  by  a  sudden  light,  which  shed 
a  halo  over  the  forms  of  Le  Ileithe  and  her  band.  The  hand  of 
the  Deity  cleft  the  thick  darkness,  not,  as  many  there  hoped,  to 
draw  Le  Ileithe  to  himself,  but  to  summon  his  hosts  to  drive  the 
murmurers  back;  and  to  hesitatingly,  as  they  thought,  sign  the 
decree. 

The  hand  was  withdrawn.  A  hush  fell  over  all.  Yet  a 
tremor  ran  through  the  retreating  throng  as  they  beheld  the  work 
begin,  of  the  cutting  off  of  Le  Ileithe 's  dominion  from  the  re- 
mainder of  the  Universe. 

The  doomed  female  host  stood  silent  and  motionless  as  stat- 
ues, watching  the  work  as  it  progressed,  not  yet  realizing  the 
full  significance  of  that  doom. 

Layer  after  layer  of  vaporous  clouds  were  woven  and  bound 
about  with  electric  cords  round  the  immense  stretch  of  ground 
known  as  "Le  Ileithe 's  Land." 

It  was  only  when  their  sight  refused  to  penetrate  beyond 
these  clouds  and  they  could  no  longer  hear  the  work  going  on, 
that  the  condemned  host  began  to  understand,  that  never  again 
would  their  eyes  behold  the  loved  companions  of  former  days, 
nor  their  beloved  homes  in  the  Sun. 

They  looked  about  them;  then  into  each  others'  eyes,  in 
dread  consternation.  For  what  had  they  given  up  their  birth- 
right? 

Le  Ileithe,  to  whom  they  turned,  smiled  back  bravely  upon 
them  although  her  own  heart  sank  under  the  added  weight  of  the 
consciousness  that  it  was  to  her  they  owed  their  terrible  fate. 

Then  she  viewed  the  battlefield  once  again,  the  scene  of  her 
signal  defeat,  strewn  as  it  was  with  the  bodies  of  her  countless 
dead. 

"We  of  the  Sun  are  immortals,"  she  said,  "but  these  our  sis- 
ter-warriors, who  were  born  upon  other  planets,  were  but  mor- 
tals. Their  souls,  it  is  true,  will  take  on  immortality,  but  of 
their  bodies,  we  must  dispose.  Let  us  then  bury  them  beneath  the 
ground  upon  which  they  were  slain  in  our  defence,  that  their 
decaying  bodies  may  enrich  the  soil,  that  thus  they  may  still  aid 
us  in  redeeming  that  of  which  we  are  accused  of  having  blighted 
and  which  our  warfare  has,  indeed,  denuded." 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  89 

In  this  she  was  over-ruled,  and  graciously  acquiesced  in 
the  wishes  of  the  many.  Certain  beautiful  white  caves  which 
were  known  to  them,  were  swept  and  garnished,  and  the  dead 
prepared  for  burial.  Then  at  the  command  of  Queen  Le  Ileithe, 
who  was  their  high  priestess  as  well,  they  purified  themselves  and 
interred  their  dead  with  all  due  pomp  and  splendor,  uniting  in 
the  ceremonies,  the  best  features  of  the  burial  rites  of  all  of  the 
planets  to  which  these  mortal  sisters  belonged,  and  from  which 
death  was  not  excluded,  as  from  the  Sun. 

This  sacred  duty  performed,  they  set  to  work  under  Le 
Ileithe 's  direction  to  make  themselves  acquainted  with  the  re- 
sources of  their  new  possessions,  that  they  might  cultivate  them. 

Glad,  now,  was  Le  Ileithe,  that  hers  was  a  winged  host,  and 
soon  she  detailed  parties  who  scoured  the  whole  dominion  and 
brought  to  her  faithful  reports  of  all  that  was  in  the  land. 

Le  Ileithe,  amazed  at  what  was  told  her,  herself  made  the 
tour  round  the  earth  before  deciding  upon  their  permanent  hab- 
itation. 

This  portion  of  the  Universe  had  been  well  known  to  her, 
but  devastated  as  it  now  was  by  her  own  continual  wars,  and  cut 
off  from  the  Sun,  bound  about  by  electric  clouds  all  seemed  des- 
olate and  unreal  to  her.  She  seemed  to  see  but  dimly  through 
their  vapors,  yet  knew  that  a  strong  guard  had  been  placed  over 
her  and  her  female  hosts.  Angry  and  wellnigh  disheartened  at 
the  prospect  of  an  eternity  of  this,  she  made  her  first  complaint. 

She  raised  her  arms  and  eyes  to  the  Sun,  which,  shining 
dimly,  as  it  seemed  to  her,  through  a  vapory  mist,  appeared  to 
be  a  separate  body  which  had  become  round  in  shape  as  was  also 
her  own  portion  of  the  Universe,  and  cried  in  accents  of  bitter 
reproach : 

"It  is  unjust ! !  Thy  decrees  are  unjust ! !  For  when,  oh 
God,  did  Le  Ileithe  ever  fail  in  worship  or  in  obedience  to  Thee  ? 
When  thou  createdst  us  male  and  female,  Thou  gavest  to  the 
female  portion  of  Thy  creatures,  a  jewel  to  hold  in  trust;  that 
pearl  of  great  price,  to  be  surrendered  only  upon  the  demand  of 
love,  innate  purity.  Because  I  and  my  maidens,  not  loving  those 
chosen  to  mate  with  us,  in  our  effort  to  preserve  this  gift  of  our 
God,  refused  to  surrender  our  personal  prerogative,  perfect  pur- 
ity, we  are  said  to  have  been  guilty  of  disobedience  to  the  Divine 
behest.  My  heart,  my  soul,  my  every  act  has  ever  been  my  God's. 


90  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

My  body  (purity's  casket)  is  my  own,  and  I  alone  have  the  right 
to  dispose  of  it.  I  will,  and  have,  maintained  that  heaven- 
born  right  by  force  of  arms.  That  I  was  forced  to  do  this  is  God's 
injustice.  Thy  injustice,  oh  God ! !  Thine ! ! !  Thou  sayest ;  'My 
laws  are  immutable ;  my  decrees  unchangeable. '  Say  then,  when 
was  this  law  of  Nature  (signed  by  nature's  God)  which  bound 
me  to  the  sacred  trust  of  my  own  purity  and  that  of  my  sex, 
repealed?  And  why  were  we  who  possess  the  supposed  inalien- 
able right  to  know  all  of  the  decrees  of  God  and  His  heavenly 
court,  left  in  ignorance  of  this  repeal.  Oh,  God,  my  God.  To 
whose  authority  I  have  ever  willingly  submitted,  Thou  hast  been 
unjust  to  me." 

A  voice  cried  sternly:  "Darest  thou,  then,  oh  turbulent 
spirit,  to  question  the  justice  of  my  decrees?" 

' '  I  dare,  and  do, ' '  was  the  defiant  answer. 

"Oh  thou  just  God(?),  if  this  indeed  be  Thy  will,  that  I 
and  the  flower  of  the  heavenly  court,  be  banished  because  of  sus- 
tained virtue,  by  right  of  which  alone,  we  were  entitled  to  a  place 
before  Thy  footstool ;  if  this  decree  be  Thine,  then  art  Thou  an 
unjust  God.  Still  Thou  art  the  One,  the  only  God  I  know;  so 
'Let  Thy  will  be  done.'  ' 

Le  Ileithe  bowed  low  in  mock  humility,  then  raised  her  majes- 
tic form  to  its  full  height  and  stood  there  the  very  impersona- 
tion of  insubordination. 

The  very  atmosphere  about  her  trembled,  then  was  hushed 
in  awe  and  fear  at  this  first  openly  expressed  defiance  of  the 
Deity  that  had  ever  been  heard  from  a  subject  of  the  Sun. 

The  hand  of  God  stirred  it  into  movement  again,  as  it  cleft 
the  vaporous  clouds  and  raised  itself  as  if  to  smite  the  daring 
rebel  where  she  stood,  proudly  awaiting  an  answer,  the  most 
beautiful  of  all  created  beings — sublimely  beautiful  in  her  right- 
eous anger. 

God 's  hand  did  not  deal  the  expected  blow ;  instead,  sudden 
glory  fell  upon  all.  A  golden  haze  shrouded  Le  Ileithe 's  form 
and  there  were  those  who  thought  that  the  hand  rested  for  a 
moment,  as  if  in  loving  caress,  upon  the  head  of  this  fair  rebel. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  Le  Ileithe  turned  agrily  aside  and  her 
voice  trembled  with  passion  as  she  demanded  in  accents  of  bit- 
ter reproach:  "And  why  has  it  been  found  necessary  to  place 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  91 

a  secret  guard  of  her  inferiors,  upon  Le  Ileithe,  who  has  ever 
submitted  to  and  ever  will  obey  the  decrees  of  her  God,  whether 
they  be  just  or  unjust  1 ' ' 

She  was  answered  only  by  an  ominous  silence.  The  light 
was  withdrawn,  but  not  so  the  guard,  whom  she  could  still  see 
indistinctly  through  the  vaporous  clouds  which  floated  between, 
standing  at  their  posts. 

This  was  the  only  time  that  Le  Ileithe  made  complaint.  In 
proud  silence  she  bore  her  doom  and  strove  to  lighten  the  hor- 
rors of  their  fate  to  the  sharers  of  her  destiny. 

She  did  as  her  descendant,  woman,  does  today,  she  made 
"the  best  of  things." 

Le  Ileithe  re-organized  her  band  and  gave  to  them  their 
individual  and  collective  duties. 

With  supple  hands  which  were  strong  beyond  the  strength 
of  giants,  they  set  to  work  to  clear  and  beautify  the  earth ;  and 
to  build  a  temple  for  the  worship  of  their  offended  Diety,  whose 
worship  they  strictly  maintained,  and  habitations  for  themselves. 
And  all  these  were  of  white  stone  and  of  burnished  gold,  for  so 
it  pleased  their  Queen. 

Their  many  implements  of  war  were  wrought  and  used  to 
fell  the  great  trees  of  resinous  wood  of  the  forests;  to  quarry, 
cut  and  polish  the  beautiful  snow-white  rocks;  and  to  mine  and 
burnish  the  abundant  gold,  and  precious  stones  in  which  their 
new  dominion  abounded;  and  to  till  the  ground  which,  although 
shorn  of  its  verdure,  was  but  the  richer  for  the  rest  their  wars 
had  given  it,  and  for  the  blood  that  had  been  spilled  upon  it, 
which  was  later  deemed  but  a  portion  of  its  lawful  inheritance. 

In  this  they  were  aided  by  the  inhabitants  of  all  other  por- 
tions of  the  universe,  and  their  lost  companions  of  the  Sun.  It 
was  an  understood  fact  that  no  direct  communication  with  these 
would  be  permitted  to  them.  But  many  were  the  presents  of 
fruit  and  flowers  and  food,  and  seeds  and  sprigs  and  rootlets, 
of  sun-grown  things  that  Le  Ileithe  had  been  known  to  love, 
which  were  lowered  to  the  earth  in  pretended  secrecy,  and  much 
of  which  found  a  temporary  resting  place  beneath  its  soil,  later  to 
spring  into  life  upon  its  surface,  gladdening  the  hearts  of  the 
exiles,  and  keeping  green  the  memory  of  the  home  they  had 
lost,  and  of  the  loved  ones  left  behind. 


92  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

As  for  Queen  Le  Ileithe,  she  seemed  not  to  heed;  and  she 
never  spoke,  nor  encouraged  her  followers  to  do  so,  of  these 
things  which,  however,  she  utilized  as,  a  matter  of  course.  Their 
wants  were  few  and  simple  and  were  well  supplied.  Le  Ileithe 
accepted  and  used  all  the  gifts  in  silence,  without  comment  or 
speculation,  for  the  benefit  of  the  earth,  which,  under  their  care, 
blossomed  like  a  rose  garden;  and  Le  Ileithe,  with  a  curious 
smile,  re-christened  the  land  "Eden"— the  pleasure  garden.  And 
so  it  was  called  for  ages  thereafter. 

Years  passed  on;  decades,  cycles,  centuries,  under  the  un- 
disputed rule  of  Le  Ileithe,  the  fairest  of  the  fair;  the  wisest 
of  the  wise.  They  who  were  mortal  and  whose  inheritance  was 
death,  through  death  took  on  immortality,  and  were  laid  away 
to  rest  in  the  city  called  beautiful,  by  the  side  of  their  warrior 
sisters  who  had  died  in  the  struggle  for  their  liberty.  This  em- 
bodied a  new  element  in  their  faith,  giving  to  them  the  hope  that 
through  death  all  might,  in  time,  return  to  their  home  in  the 
sun. 

The  high  priestess,  Le  Ileithe,  combatted  this,  although  she 
felt  that  it  was  true. 

"All  that  broadens  our  religion,  weakens  it,"  she  said,  "let 
us  preserve  our  faith  in  its  original  purity  and  simplicity,  bid- 
ing the  Deity's  own  time  and  pleasure  in  ending  our  exile." 

Then  the  tempter  entered  Eden  for  the  first  time.  Jealous 
love  had  been  set  as  a  guard  over  them.  All  of  the  other  planets 
kept  close  watch  upon  the  Earth.  Their  rulers  served  in  turn 
as  captain  of  the  guard,  and  hedged  Eden  about  with  their  most 
trusty  aids.  Soon  Le  Ileithe  knew  what  she  had  hitherto  only 
suspected,  that  Jupiter,  Saturn,  and  Mars  were  her  watchers, 
and  that  their  chosen  guards  were  discontent,  sin  and  shame, 
disease  and  death,  who  dared  now,  to  approach,  to  tempt  the  dis- 
affected and  to  deceive. 

Le  Ileithe  found  herself  powerless  to  prevent  what  followed. 
She  could  only  grieve  and  sorrow  over  the  defection  of  her  vir- 
gin host,  who,  in  spite  of  her  wise  and  loving  counsel,  out  of  very 
weariness  of  the  monotonous  life  they  were  forced  to  lead,  per- 
haps, threw  away  that  pearl  for  which  they  had  so  long  and 
bravely  fought,  and  secretly  embraced  the  tempter,  voluntarily 
becoming  mortal  in  their  strife  for  immortality;  or  rather  de- 
scending to  this  mortal  state  that  they  might,  through  the  agency 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  83 

of  these  their  tempter  guards,  escape  their  endless  captivity  and 
thus  reach  in  time  the  boundless  liberty  of  the  sun. 

Sorrow  as  she  might  over  this  liaison  between  good  and  evil ; 
between  virtue  and  perfect  purity,  and  sin  and  sorrow,  the 
pure  and  the  corrupt,  yet  did  Le  Ileithe  take  the  offspring  of  this 
unnatural  union  to  her  generous  heart  and  calling  this  race  of 
giants  her  own  children,  reared  them  as  such.  She  built  for 
them  cities  and  temples  and  habitations,  and  schools  suited  to 
their  needs,  and  it  was  noted  that  the  worship  of  the  Deity  whose 
throne  was  in  the  sun,  and  who  was  the  creator  of  the  universe 
and  of  all  that  it  contained,  was  made  the  foundation  of  all 
knowledge,  that  God,  whose  anger  at  the  disobedience  of  their 
parents,  might  yet  be  appeased  by  their  own  unquestioning  obed- 
ience to  the  divine  laws  as  entrusted  to  her  and  her  priestesses. 

Years,  decades,  cycles,  centuries  passed  away,  and  at  length 
all  of  Le  Ileithe 's  warrior  host  had  embraced  death  through  sin, 
and  their  commander,  Queen  and  Chief  Priestess  alone  of  them 
all  was  left  upon  the  Earth — alone  with  her  foster-children. 

The  tempter,  send  by  Jupiter,  Saturn,  Mars,  Neptune  and 
the  rest  who  had  combined  to  coerce  her  to  their  will,  crept  ever 
at  her  side,  in  the  form  of  the  wise,  the  golden,  serpent.  Its 
silent  hiss  was  unheeded  by  Le  Ileithe,  who,  unmindful  of  its 
threatened  sting,  placed  her  hand  fearlessly  upon  its  reared  crest, 
saying:  "Behind  me,"  and  held  the  serpent  backward. 

To  herself  she  whispered:  "God's  pardon  will  yet  be  mine. 
But  it  must  be  a  voluntary  gift.  I  will  never  prostitute  myself 
to  gain  it.  If  perfect  purity  of  soul  and  body  does  not  suffice 
to  gain  it,  then  will  I  endure  forever  and  ever  and  ever." 

Perhaps  it  was  her  loving  care  of  the  offspring  of  her  err- 
ing sisters  that  gave  color  to  the  tale  that  many  of  these  were 
her  own.  At  any  rate,  God,  who  was  relenting  toward  this  fal- 
len favorite,  hardened  His  heart  once  more  against  her,  turning 
a  deaf  ear  to  her  prayers,  and  refused  to  recognize  her  unceasing 
devotions ;  and,  giving  credence  to  the  false  reports  of  her  watch- 
ers, believed  her  to  be  the  angel  fallen  they  represented  her. 

Le  Ileithe  knew  and  understood,  but  gave  no  sign;  endur- 
ing all  as  she  had  ever  done,  in  haughty  silence.  "What  was 
there,"  they  wondered,  "that  this  wise  princess  and  queen  of  a 
new-born  race  did  not  know?"  "Where  did  her  knowledge 
cease?" 


94  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

Le  Ileithe's  face  was  ever  turned  toward  the  sun,  like  that 
of  a  flower,  and  by  its  changeful  expression  they  believed  that 
she  had  schooled  her  eyes  to  penetrate  the  vapors  of  the  fleecy 
clouds  that  enveloped  Eden,  her  hearing,  to  pierce  the  dense 
atmosphere  in  which  it  was  shrouded,  and  that  she  both  saw 
and  heard  what  had  been  forbidden  to  her  as  a  part  of  her  pun- 
ishment—all that  passed  in  the  sun-sphere  beyond. 

If  so,  she  kept  her  own  counsel  and  gave  no  sign  that  she 
was  secretly  partaking  of  this  forbidden  fruit.  Her  voice  was 
raised  to  it  only  in  her  religious  rites  and  then  addressed  only 
to*  the  Deity  Himself,  as  was  her  birthright,  scorning  all  media- 
tion. 

At  all  of  these  scandalous  tales  she  only  laughed,  believing 
that  her  purity  and  innocence  would  assert  itself.  And  she 
was  right. 

Years,  decades,  cycles,  centuries  passed  away,  yet  that  Le 
Ileithe  still  dwelt  alone  of  her  species,  in  Eden,  was  proof  of  her 
purity,  because  of  which  she  could  not  die. 

Upon  being  told  that  Le  Ileithe  was  still  Queen  of  the  planet 
which  had  been  as  it  were  created  for  her,  God's  own  curiosity 
was  excited  and  He  said :  "  I  will  visit  in  person  this  my  rebel- 
lious subject,  who  worships,  yet  defies  me;  who  submits  to  my 
divine  will,  obeying  without  question  my  behests,  in  all  save  this 
one  item,  at  which  she  draws  the  line;  yet  in  her  disobedience 
sets  up  for  herself  and  her  sex  a  code  of  morality  above  that 
which  I  have  hitherto  sanctioned. ' ' 

Enveloping  Himself  closely  in  an  impenetrable  mantle  of 
secrecy  and  invisibility,  God  visited  the  Earth  in  person  for  the 
first  time. 

Once  upon  the  Earth,  God  looked  about  Him  in  amazement 
upon  Le  Ileithe's  land,  from  the  sight  of  which  He  had  steadily 
turned  away  His  eyes  since  the  day  upon  which  He  had  beheld 
this  arch-rebel  bound  by  invisible  chains  to  its  barren  surface, 
to  expiate  her  crime  of  disobedience  to  that  special  edict'  of  the 
heavenly  council.  The  then  naked  plains  were  covered  with 
fragrant  grasses  and  flowering  trees  and  shrubs;  the  naked 
hills  and  mountains  were  clothed  in  verdure  from  their  base  to 
their  summit;  yet  Le  Ileithe  had  taken  the  greatest  pains  to 
preserve  every  natural  beauty  both  of  form  and  feature,  and  the 
Deity  recognized  the  different  spots  upon  which  His  eyes  now 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  95 

rested,  in  His  search  for  she  who  had,  as  it  were,  re-created  it  out 
of  chaos.  Nestling  in  the  valleys  and  upon  the  sides  of  the  moun- 
tains and  cresting  the  tops  of  the  hills,  were  thousands  of  vil- 
lages of  the  herders  of  the  flocks  and  the  tillers  of  the  fields 
and  vineyards  by  which  they  were  surrounded,  and  the  temple 
and  palaces  of  the  cities  which  crowned  the  mountain  tops  and 
were  the  homes  of  all  known  industries,  were  mimic  copies  of 
those  belonging  to  the  greater  spheres. 

God  gazed  in  wonder  upon  all  this,  and  smiled,  well 
pleased. 

"What  has  she  not  guessed  of  all  our  mysteries,"  He 
thought.  "How  much  is  still  hidden  from  her?  In  time,  with- 
out instruction,  in  spite  of  our  prohibition,  she  will  have  solved 
them  all. ' '  He  sought,  and  it  would  almost  seem^  in  vain,  for  the 
ruling  spirit  of  this  land  which  she  had  rightly  christened 
"Eden,"  and  was  about  to  turn  away  in  sorrow,  believing  that 
at  the  last,  wearied  with  long  waiting  for  the  smile  of  pardon  He 
so  far  had  withheld,  she,  too,  had  succumbed  to  the  fate  marked 
out  for  her;  when  He  beheld  her  emerging  from  a  pool  upon  a 
mountain-top ;  and,  approaching  more  closely,  He  saw  through 
the  mist  in  which  she  had  enshrouded  herself,  that  she  was  fresh 
from  bathing  in  this  sequestered  spot  wherein  she  dwelt  alone, 
far  from  the  sight  and  sound  of  those  who  dwelt  in  the  cities  and 
villages  scattered  over  all  the  surface  of  the  Earth.  This  was 
the  Sacred  Mountain  which  the  foot  of  mortal  had  never  been 
permitted  to  ascend.  Its  summit  was  crowned  by  the  great  tem- 
ple, seen  by  mortals  only  from  afar ;  whereon  dwelt  and  wherein 
worshipped  alone,  since  the  defection  of  her  comrade  subjects, 
she  to  whom  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  Earth  rendered  homage, 
and  through  whom  they  could  alone  approach  the  Deity  whom 
they  worshipped  in  their  own  temples,  constructed  after  its 
fashion,  according  to  the  same  religious  rites  and  observances 
taught  by  her. 

In  the  center  of  the  flowering  forest  in  which  the  great  tem- 
ple stood  was  the  limpid  sacred  pool,  where  many  of  the  religious 
rites  of  the  immortals  had  been  celebrated,  and  it  was  from  the 
depths  of  this  that  Le  Ileithe  now  emerged,  her  garments  still 
dripping,  acknowledged  by  that  God  who  had  so  long  held  aloof 
from  her,  to  be  by  far  the  most  glorious  of  all  His  own  creations 


96  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

The  radiant  Le  Ileithe  slowly  mounted  the  steps  of  her 
bath,  which  was  surrounded  by  steps  cut  in  the  solid  rock,  form- 
ing a  circular  basin,  which  gleamed  like  pearl  in  the  starlight, 
and  paused  before  seating  herself  upon  the  great  stone  chair 
canopied  by  the  same  white  rock  upheld  by  beautiful  carved  pil- 
lars, which  filled  a  segment  of  the  circle,  then  lifting  her  eyes 
and  arms  toward  the  heavens  as  was  her  wont,  she  chanted  softly 
an  anthem  of  praise  to  the  Deity  whose  hand  had  smitten  her. 

As  the  pean  progressed  a  puzzled  look  swept  over  the  face 
of  Le  Ileithe.  There  seemed  to  be  a  vacuum  in  that  part  of  the 
heavens  toward  which  she  turned.  In  turn,  she  scanned  each 
portion  of  the  universe,  then  seemed  to  recognize  the  Presence. 
She  bowed  her  head  and  mounting  the  dais  upon  which  the  throne- 
like  chair  was  placed,  she  questioned:  "What  is  Thy  will  with 
me,  oh  God?" 

Out  from  the  folds  of  the  mantle  of  invisibility  the  hand 
of  God  was  thrust  and  rested  gently  upon  the  waves  of  golden 
hair,  to  which  the  water  yet  clung  in  drops  and  sparkled  like 
jewels  as  if  loath  to  quit  their  perfumed  meshes,  while  the  voice  of 
Le  Ileithe 's  God  questioned  softly :  ' '  Wilt  thou  share  thy  throne 
with  me?" 

And  Le  Ileithe 's  answer  was :  ' '  With  Thee  alone,  my  Lord. ' ' 

The  interview  was  long  which  marked  the  reconciliation  be- 
tween Le  Ileithe  and  Le  Ileithe 's  God,  and  often,  as  she  told 
Him  the  story  of  her  wrongs  and  confessed  for  the  first  time 
her  errors,  was  the  hand  laid  caressingly  upon  her  head,  bowed  in 
proud  humility  before  Him. 

This  feminine  soul,  with  all  its  beautiful    (incomprehens- 
ible)  vagaries,  so  admirable  when  thus  revealed,  whose  innate 
purity  preserved  and  strengthened,  cast  a  halo  about  its  posses- 
sor, was  a  delight,  a  new  revelation  even  to  its  Creator. 
^  It  was  in  the  very  midst  of  this  interview  that  the  Deity, 

glancing  downward,  beheld  the  golden  serpent  rearing  its  hooded 
,°  crest  close  by  Le  Ileithe 's  side  and  whispering  its  softly-spoken 
,,e^lies  into  her  offended  ear. 

,.f         Le  Ileithe 's  hand  restrained  it,  but  the  heel  of  God  crushed 

..it  to  the  earth.  "Crawl  thou  ever  there,  at  the  feet  of  her  whom 

'thou  hast  maligned  and  made  to  suffer  injustice  and  wrong  at  my 

P.  hand." 
Dei 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  97 

This  secret  interview  was  but  one  of  many.  God  seemed 
never  to  weary  of  hearing  of  Le  Ileithe 's  works  and  teachings. 
She  pointed  out  to  Him  the  temple  and  the  grove-enshrouded  pool 
at  the  foot  of  the  sacred  mountain,  the  exact  counterpart  of 
those  upon  its  summit,  where  they  sat.  This  was  where  she  gave 
her  instructions,  issued  her  commands  to  the  queens  and  priest- 
esses and  rulers  of  the  new-born  race  to  which  she  had  been  the 
foster  mother. 

She  confessed  as  to  how  she  obtained  her  knowledge,  by  se- 
cretely  watching  and  listening  as  it  were,  at  the  doorways  of  the 
other  planets,  and  by  noting  the  results  of  this  stolen  half- 
knowledge  as  applied  to  this  new  planet  under  the  new  and  novel 
regime  of  woman. 

As  for  Le  Ileithe,  she  laughed  and  laughed  again  because  of 
her  unbounded  happiness  and  appeared  to  grow  in  stature  and 
in  beauty  as  it  seemed  to  Him  with  the  light  of  love  shedding  an 
added  radiance  upon  her. 

And  from  this  union  of  love  divine  and  love  human  two 
children  were  born.  These  were  Adam  and  Eve,  whose  history 
tradition  gives  to  us  but  imperfectly. 

Le  Ileithe  reared  her  children  secretly  and  separately,  per- 
mitting them  to  hold  no  communication  with  each  other  or  with 
the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  who  were  kept  in  ignorance  of 
their  existence. 

These  children  were  the  cause  of  many  dissensions  between 
Le  Ileithe  and  her  God.  God  willed  that  Adam,  the  first  born, 
should  inherit  and  rule  the  Earth.  Le  Ileithe  would  not  give  up 
her  belief  in  female  supremacy  and  declared  that  Eve  should  be 
first  in  authority. 

Le  Ileithe  set  aside  to  Adam  one  of  the  most  beautiful  spots 
upon  the  face  of  the  Earth  for  his  dwelling  place.  This  portion 
of  her  dominion  was  the  only  one  known  thereafter  as  "Eden." 
Here  she  reared  him  in  ignorance  of  his  true  origin,  encourag- 
ing him  in  his  mistaken  belief  that  he  had  been  formed  by  the 
hand  of  the  Deity  whose  creation  he  was,  from  the  dust  and  rock 
of  the  Earth. 

As  time  passed  on,  Adam,  leaving  the  age  of  childhood  be- 
hind him,  made  demands  upon  Le  Ileithe  which  it  was  impossible 
for  her  to  gratify,  and  she  was  forced  to  satisfy  his  craving  for 
companionship  by  bringing  to  Eden,  which  she  had  meant  to  be 


98  LA  GRAN   QUIBIEA 

the  scene  of  a  life-long  but  pleasureable  captivity  to  him,  his 
sister  Eve,  and  to  join  them  together  in  wedlock. 

This  settled  one  question  at  least,  for  they  were  declared 
joint  rulers  of  the  whole  Earth,  but  made  to  dwell  within  the 
boundaries  of  Eden,  holding  no  direct  communication  with  their 
subjects,  but  ruling  them  after  the  manner  that  was  Le  Ileithe's 
own,  who  still  advised  and  held  supreme  control.  There  was  but  one 
thing  exacted  from  them  and  that  was  strict  and  unquestioning 
obedience,  to  this  decree,  declared  to  be  that  of  the  Divinity 
Himself. 

We  possess  an  incomplete  account  of  their  disobedience  and 
of  the  punishment  they  endured  and  entailed  upon  their  descend- 
ants because  of  this  act,  which  sprang  from  the  contention  for 
the  precedence  in  authority  which  went  on  constantly  between 
Adam,  who  claimed  it  because  he  declared  himself  first-born  of 
the  earth  and  chosen  lord-of-all-creation,  and  Eve,  who,  keener 
of  wit  or  better  instructed,  perhaps,  claimed  it  as  her  own  right 
as  a  daughter  of  the  Sun  who  ruled  the  Earth.  But  who  has  told 
the  story  of  the  mother's  sorrow  at  this  defection  of  her  off- 
spring, or  her  passionate  anger  and  discontent  at  the  penalty 
set  for  their  disobedience,  and  for  the  sins  it  entailed  upon  their 
children  and  their  childrens'  children  to  the  end  of  time? 

God  wearied  of  her  tears  and  complaints  and  turned  unsee- 
ing eyes  and  deaf  ears  to  them. 

She  declared  that  Death  was  punishment  sufficient  for  any 
crime  they  might  commit,  and  this  undergone,  the  offspring  of 
the  Deity  and  His  most  powerful  subject  should  have  the  in- 
contestible  right  to  enter  at  once  into  their  ultimate  inheritance, 
and  taking  their  place  at  their  Father's  foot-stool,  rank  first 
among  the  princes  of  the  sun. 

God  said:  "The  laws  of  Heaven  are  immutable;  they  are 
unchangeable,  and  by  them  it  is  declared  that  all  who  are  born 
upon  the  Earth  are  subject  to  the  penalties  affixed  for  the  sins 
committed  upon  its  surface.  Had  our  children  abstained  from 
that  of  blood-guiltiness,  I  might  have  asserted  my  right  to  re- 
peal this,  as  thou  askest  of  me ;  or  to  grant  unconditional  pardon. 
As  it  is  I  refuse  to  interfere.  Let  them  suffer  the  death  penalty 
of  body  and  soul." 


A  MUSICAL,  MYSTEEY  99 

"Le  Ileithe,  Le  Ileithe,"  He  cried  in  stern  remonstrance  and 
reproach  at  her  passionate  anger,  and,  as  he  thought,  unreason- 
ing grief,  and  anger  and  insubordination  against  the  will  of 
Heaven. 

"Call  me  not  'Le  Ileithe,'  "  she  cried  in  a  passion  of  tears 
and  lamentations,  "call  me  rather,  'Marah,'  for  am  I  not  'The 
Mother  of  SOITOW'?"  Then  questioned,  as  she  looked  down  upon 
her  erring  offspring:  "Is  there  no  hope?  Is  there  no  means  of 
averting  this  awful  destiny,  of  escaping  this  terrible  doom?" 

"But  one,"  was  his  reluctant  answer.  "When  one  is  found 
who  is  willing  to  take  the  sins  of  all  upon  himself  by  enduring 
eternal  death  of  body  and  of  soul,  then  will  the  children  of  Earth 
regain  their  right  to  work  their  way  to  Heaven.  Truly  art  thou 
'Marah'  'the  mother  of  sorrow;'  for  where  is  this  redeemer  of 
thy  erring  children  to  be  found  ? ' ' 

"Would  I  be  accepted  as  the  sacrifice?"  she  eagerly  ques- 
tioned. 

There  was  no  reply.  The  Presence  had  vanished.  God  had 
fled  in  terror  at  her  daring. 

She  needed  no  other  answer,  and  at  once  she  commenced 
her  preparations.  She  retired  to  her  "Holy  of  Holies,"  of  the 
most  holy  temple,  where,  after  performing  the  most  sacred  of  the 
religious  rites  of  her  priestly  office,  she  set  to  work  to  chisel  upon 
the  snowy  surface  of  the  great  altar  stone  a  new  code  of  moral 
laws  and  of  physical  laws  as  well,  founded  upon  the  old,  but 
modified  to  suit  the  present  and  future  needs  of  the  loved  ones 
whom  she  was  soon  to  leave  forever. 

This  work  of  love  accomplished,  she  sped  forth  upon  her 
mission.  In  turn  she  visited  every  portion  of  the  earth,  reveal- 
ing herself  for  the  first  time  to  all  alike.  She  winged  her  way 
from  point  to  point,  instructing,  admonishing,  explaining  the 
doctrine  of  original  sin  and  how  it  was  their  natural  inheritance, 
teaching  the  plan  of  salvation  which  would  permit  them  to  be- 
come the  arbiters  of  their  own  destinies,  as  it  were,  when  once 
she  had  made  the  grand  atonement. 

When  questioned  as  to  who  she  was,  if  she  were  not  Le 
Ileithe,  to  whom  their  rulers  and  priestesses  paid  homage,  she 
always  made  answer:  "I  am  'The  Mother  of  Sorrow.'  Call  me 
Marah." 


100  LA  GRAN  QUIBIEA 

Her  mission  on  the  Earth  accomplished,  that  of  bearing  to 
every  living  soul  thereon  warning,  and  the  glad  tidings  of  hope 
of  this  future  salvation,  Le  Ileithe  winged  her  way  back  to  the 
sacred  mountain,  where,  after  purifying  herself,  she  visited  the 
city  called  "Beautiful,"  which  was  reared  in  the  center  of  a 
high  valley  among  its  peaks  and  wherein  were  the  tombs  of  those 
of  her  sisterhood  whose  vows  of  eternal  celibacy  kept,  had 
brought  down  upon  themselves  the  vengeance  of  Almighty  God ; 
and  which  broken,  had  entailed  upon  their  offspring  so  terrible 
a  punishment.  Long  she  wandered  here,  visiting  the  tombs  of 
each  of  her  dead  sisters  in  turn,  reviewing  their  lives,  their  temp- 
tations and  sufferings.  More  than  once  she  cried  in  bitterness 
of  spirit  and  in  sorrow:  "Oh,  thou  unjust  Judge,  who  forgol 
that  Thou  wast  father  and  lover  as  well !  Yet,  '  Let  Thy  will  be 
done'." 

Here  she  renewed  her  religious  vows,  then  wended  her  way 
back  to  the  great  temple  where  she  purified  herself  anew.  Then 
she  set  to  work  to  build  her  funeral  pyre.  About  the  throne-like 
chair  above  the  sacred  pool,  she  piled  the  logs  of  resinous  woods, 
as  she  prepared  them.  She  covered  each  layer  with  spices, 
thickly  strewn,  the  gifts  of  her  children,  and  indeed  of  all  the 
Earth,  and  covered  all  with  flowers  and  the  grains  and  fruits 
which  her  own  care  had  fostered.  Then  she  purified  herself  for 
the  third  time,  and  coming  up  out  of  the  waters  made  her  way 
to  the  temple,  where  she  robed  herself  in  the  pure  vestment  of  her 
priestly  office;  and  all  rancor  cast  aside,  she  performed  in  sol- 
itude, the  sacred  rites  of  that  office,  for  the  last  time  upon  the 
Earth.— The  Earth,  which  called  her  "Mother,'  and  which,  if 
she  had  not  created,  she  had  reconstructed,  and  which  she  was 
about  to  redeem  from  sorrow  and  from  sin. 

Then  she  came  forth  in  all  the  glory  of  her  perfect  beauty 
and  grace,  this  most  perfect  of  all  created  beings,  the  best  be- 
loved of  the  Creator  Himself,  and  sweeping  away  the  mists 
with  which  she  had  encircled  the  sacred  mountain  and  screened 
her  devotions  from  the  sight  of  the  entire  Earth,  whose  inhabit- 
ants awaited  in  awed  silence,  the  expected  sacrifice,  calmly  lighted 
the  funeral  pyre  at  its  base  and  as  calmly  seated  herself  upon 
her  flower-bedecked  throne. 

Her  movements  were  sublime  in  their  stately  grace.  She 
raised  her  eyes  and  her  arms  to  Heaven  as  was  her  wont  and 


A  MUSICAL   MYSTERY  101 

cried  in  a  voice  sonorous,  yet  fraught  with  sweetness:  "It  is 
finished.  Oh,  my  God,  let  this,  the  last  act  of  a  willful  spirit, 
atone  for  all!" 

And  now  for  the  first  time  the  inhabitants  of  all  the  greater 
planets  began  to  understand  the  scene  that  was  being  enacted 
upon  the  top  of  the  sacred  mountain  of  the  Earth.  Their  rulers 
took  fright  at  once  at  this  scene  of  the  atonement,  and  resolved  to 
rescue  this  self-appointed  victim  from  the  sacrificial  altar. 

The  flames  rose  high  and  yet  more  high.  The  whole  of  the 
resinous  pile  had  seemed  to  ignite  at  once,  but  the  smoke  swept 
ever  aside,  leaving  Le  Ileithe's  form  and  face  exposed  to  view. 

All  of  the  Earth's  inhabitants  knelt  as  if  theirs  were  but 
one  body  and  cried  as  if  with  one  voice:  "Marah!  Marah!  Ma- 
rah!" 

Mars  flew  swiftly  over  the  intervening  space,  crying :  ' '  I  will 
save  her.  She  shall  yet  be  mine,"  and  his  archers  and  warriors 
strove  in  vain  to  extinguish  the  flames,  that  seemed  about  to 
swallow  up  that  beautiful  form  at  one  gulp. 

Le  Ileithe  motioned  them  back  and  after  casting  that  one 
cold  glance  upon  them,  turned  her  steadfast  gaze  toward  Heaven 
and  commenced  her  own  death-song. 

Saturn  said:  "She  shall  yet  be  mine,"  and  sent  his  servant, 
Death,  to  claim  her. 

But  Jupiter  muttered  in  thunderous  accents:  "She  shall  yet 
be  mine  I ' '  and  sped  shaft  after  shaft  of  swiftest  lightning  which 
each  time  struck  and  paralyzed  the  arm  of  Death  outstretched  to 
claim  her. 

Throughout  all  this  din  and  uproar,  of  which  she  was  the 
cause,  Le  Iletihe's  voice  rose  clear  and  distinct  in  its  pean  of 
praise  to  that  God  who  had  smitten  her  so  sorely,  for  well  she 
knew  that  she  was  the  most  powerful  spirit  of  the  Universe; 
ranking  second  only  to  the  Most  Holy  Himself,  who  alone  could 
claim  her  against  her  own  will. 

Ignoring  all  of  the  strife  around  her,  her  voice  arose  clear 
and  yet  more  clear  until  it  reached  the  throne  of  the  Deity  Him- 
self, and  broke  in  glad  accents  upon  the  ear  of  her  offended  God. 

Aroused  from  sad  and  angry  meditation  of  which  she  her- 
self was  the  subject,  and  by  the  smoke  of  the  incense  from  the 


102  LA  GRAN  QUEBIRA 

altar  of  sacrifice,  God  saw  and  heard  and  understood  and  inter- 
posed. 

He  made  His  way  speedily  to  the  Earth.  His  hand  was  out- 
stretched and  almost  too  late  grasped  the  form  of  Le  Ileithe, 
while  that  voice  which  was  so  seldom  heard  by  His  subjects  said 
tremulously:  ''She  is  MINE!" 

What  became  of  her  whose  death-song  was  thus  stilled, 
none  knew  with  certainty,  but  guessed  that  the  newly-created 
light  which  illumined  the  Earth  by  night,  and  before  which  the 
stars  paled  and  did  homage,  was  the  home  of  her  who  had  offered 
herself  up  as  a  burnt-oft'ering  that  the  future  salvation  of  her 
children  might  be  assured. 

And  this  was  true.  And  thus,  in  a  manner,  was  created  two 
new  planets  for  the  arch-rebel,  Le  Ileithe,  who  for  her  brave  de- 
votion to  her  offspring  was  translated,  and  the  banished  princess 
of  the  Sun  raised  from  her  station  as  Queen  of  the  Earth 
to  become  the  Queen  of  Heaven,  and  from  her  throne  in  the  heav- 
ens, she  watches  over  and  fructifys  the  Earth,  making  light  its 
dark  places,  and  forms  the  connecting  link  between  it  and  its 
sterner  parent,  the  Sun. 

This  is  the  true  story  of  the  creation  of  the  Earth,  and  this 
is  likewise  the  true  story  of  Le  Ileithe,  whom  the  Israelites  be- 
lieved to  be  Adam's  spirit  wife,  that  they  might  better  establish 
the  ascendancy  of  man  over  woman,  who  later  appeared  in  the 
earth-born  form  of  Eve. 

Slanders  against  her  sex  never  quite  die  out,  and  Le  Ileithe, 
identified  with  her  dwelling-place,  is  called  by  many,  "The 
Strumpet  of  the  Planets. "  But  she,  deaf  as  ever  to  all  calumnies 
of  herself  or  her  sex,  moves  calmly  on  her  way,  deigning  no  de- 
fence, permitting  the  cold  radiance  which  emanates  from  her 
presence  alone  to  assert  her  purity  to  the  pure  in  heart,  who 
never  fail  to  worship  her  as  their  most  holy  priestess. 

When  man  abrogated  to  himself  the  holy  office  of  priest- 
hood, for  ages  denying  it  to  woman,  he  purposely  misinterpreted 
this  story,  yet  among  men  Le  Ileithe  has,  during  all  the  past  ages, 
of  the  Earth,  had  her  devoted  worshippers. 

The  ancient  Egyptians  worshipped  her  under  the  name  of 
Isis  and  gave  her  in  honest  wedlock  to  Osiris,  (The  Sun).  The 
Greeks  adored  her  as  Ceres,  and  knew  her  again  as  Vesta.  The 
Taltecs  worshipped  her  as  "The  Serpent  Woman,"  and  pictured 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  103 

her  with  her  right  hand  borne  heavily  downward  upon  the  head 
of  the  golden  serpent,  which  reared  itself  to  its  full  height  to 
whisper  its  temptations,  yet  failed  to  reach  the  ear  of  the  woman, 
wise  beyond  the  serpent's  wisdom.  She  was  the  Goddess  Hytan- 
na  of  the  Aztecs,  to  whom  they  prayed  for  peace  and  plenty. 
And  by  many  other  names  has  she  been  known  and  worshipped 
in  every  portion  of  the  Earth  throughout  all  the  past  ages. 


THE  ROMANZA 


THE    PLACE    WHERE    JESUS    WAS    BORN. 

— [Courtesy   of   The   Pictorial    American. 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  107 

ACT    I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 
CANTO  THE  FIRST. 

A  FANTASIA — "THE  GIFTS  OF  THE  GODS." 

The  veil  of  golden  mist  was  lifted  from  before  the  face  of 
the  Sun.  The  gates  of  pearl  were  thrown  wide  open,  and  the 
drawbridge  lowered  across  that  sea  of  seething  flame  in  which 
doomed  humanity  writhed  and  shrieked  and  groaned,  under  the 
infliction  of  that  most  terrible  of  all  physical  torture,  joined  to 
that  greatest  of  all  mental  suffering  that  can  be  endured  by  the 
jealous  soul  of  mortal,  to  be  forced  to  look  ever  upon  the  perfect 
bliss  of  those  whom  they  wronged  in  other  worlds. 

Then  out  from  the  keep  within,  through  the  gates  of  pearl, 
there  issued  an  angel  host,  winged,  with  garments  charged  to 
their  utmost  capacity  with  the  burden  of  electricity  required  to 
bear  them  safely  upon  the  long  journey  before  them  through 
the  air. 

Across  the  lowered  drawbridge  they  swiftly  speeded,  blind 
to  the  sight  of  the  writhing,  tortured  souls  beneath  them,  burn- 
ing, ever  burning ;  deaf  to  their  cries,  which  indeed  were  hushed 
as  they  caught  sight  of  that  which  was  borne  in  the  midst  of  the 
angel  host,  and  which  they  so  carefully  guarded — the  soul  of  a 
mortal  who,  having  gained  heaven  by  that  slow  and  tortuous 
route  marked  out  for  all,  had  lost  it  again  by  some  act  of  insub- 
ordination and  was  being  returned  to  one  or  other  of  the  planets 
to  begin  anew  the  strife  for  heaven. 

At  the  far  end  of  the  drawbridge  the  host  took  flight,  guard- 
ing most  carefully  the  golden  car  in  whose  depths  reposed, 
gleaming  brightly  through  its  fleecy  wrappings,  that  formless, 
shapeless,  yet  beautiful  thing— an  immortal  soul. 

There  was  some  slight  stir  among  the  host  as  the  leader  di- 
rected their  flight  toward  Jupiter,  and  not  to  Saturn,  as  were 
their  orders ;  but  all  obeyed  the  signal  and  sped  quickly  and  yet 
more  quickly  as  was  their  need  if  they  performed  their  mission 
within  the  allotted  time. 


108  LA   GRAN    QUIBIRA 

The  accustomed  sounds  of  the  upper  air  were  hushed  at 
their  approach.  No  lute  or  harp  or  cymbal  sounded.  But  the 
leader  of  the  angel  host  shuddered  when  she  noted  that  the  swift 
movement  of  the  guardian  band  drew  from  the  silenced  instru- 
ments weird  melody,  sweet,  but  oh,  how  sad. 

Great  Jupiter  himself  came  forth  to  meet  his  unwonted 
guests,  accompanied  by  Queen  Juno. 

The  leader  took  them  aside  and  hastily  told  the  story,  be- 
seeching them  to  bestow  upon  this  unfortunate  soul  the  best  of 
all  their  gifts,  and  to  see  the  host  safely  upon  their  journey  at 
least  so  far  as  Mars. 

"Is  this  the  soul  of  a  male  or  of  a  female?"  asked  Jupiter 
curiously. 

"Who  knows?"  was  the  reply,  "but  it  seems  significant  to  me 
that  we  of  the  convoy  are  all  female. ' ' 

"Perhaps  it  is  'She,'  my  rebellious  Queen,  who  escaped  me, 
who  thought  to  quell  her  turbulent  spirit  and  unbending  pride, 
and  who  by  that  one  grand  act  eluded  me  and  gained  the  Sun  at 
a  single  stride,  as  it  were;"  and  his  brow  clouded.  "Well,  of 
whatever  sex  this  soul  be,  I  will  help  it  on  its  weary  way,  by  be- 
stowing upon  it  the  very  best  gift  that  mortal  may  possess ;  and 
that  is  'moral  courage.'  "  And  he  dropped  into  the  golden  car 
a  diamond  of  wonderful  size  and  brilliancy. 

"And  I,"  said  Juno,  "will  give  to  it  rare  and  unequalled 
beauty."  "And,"  she  added,  a  little  spitefully,  "beauty  un- 
conscious of  itself."  Then  she  placed  a  great  pearl  beside  the 
diamond. 

"A  dangerous  gift,"  muttered  the  leader,  "yet  I,  the  guard- 
ian spirit  of  this  soul  which  had  been  degraded  from  the  Sun  to 
the  Earth,  thank  thee  both  most  heartily,  and  accept  thy 
proffered  escort  so  far  as  Mars.  Let  us  hasten  onward  to  Saturn, 
for  there  we  are  to  be  joined  by  the  evil  spirit  who  is  to  share 
my  guardianship." 

The  guardian  host  sped  swiftly  on,  as  before,  expecting  no 
trouble,  until  Saturn  was  left  behind. 

The  winged  steeds  were  quickly  harnessed  to  the  golden 
chariot,  and  Jupiter  and  Juno  mounted  the  thunder-laden  car, 
and  surrounded  by  the  suites  of  both,  and  many  Herculean  forms 
beside,  followed  in  their  wake. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  109 

They  needed  not  to  halt  at  Saturn,  for  the  errand  of  the  an- 
gel host  was  already  done,  and  from  Saturn  a  giant  form  equip- 
ped and  clad  from  head  to  foot  in  mail,  had  come  forth  to  meet 
the  host. 

"Thou  wert  expected;"  was  the  curt  greeting.  "I  am  the 
evil  genius  of  the  soul  thou  hast  in  thy  keeping.  This  is  the  gift 
that  Saturn  sends."  Then  he  unrolled  a  great  electric  stone,  and 
started  in  surprise  that  the  spirit  in  the  bottom  of  the  car  shot 
forth  at  once  the  rainbow  hues  of  all  of  its  gifts  in  turn. 

"What  glorious  spirit  is  this,"  he  inquired,  "who  has  fallen 
from  grace?" 

Again  the  answer  was:  "Who  knows?" 

' '  Humph, ' '  muttered  the  mail-clad  figure  as  he  noted  for  the 
first  time  that  his  was  the  only  male  figure  among  the  host,  and 
caught  sight  of  Jupiter  following  in  their  wake.  "I  think  it 
must  be  'she'  herself,  and  if  so,  Saturn  will  be  disappointed  that 
he  was  not  there  to  obey  the  summons  in  person."  And  he  sent 
back  a  courier  with  orders  to  bring  the  greatest  possible  force 
that  the  planet  could  muster,  that  he  might  in  Saturn's  name 
take  forcible  possession  of  this  carefully- guarded  prize. 

Soon  the  dark  host  appeared,  and  well  it  was  that  Jupiter 
had  allied  himself  to  the  guardian  angels.  For,  without  the 
protection  and  the  aid  of  his  clouds  and  shafts  and  thunderbolts 
which  held  back  the  reinforcements  of  evil  spirits,  they  must  have 
lost  their  prize.  As  it  was,  each  step  of  the  journey  to  Mars 
was  hotly  contested.  Battle  after  battle  was  fought  by  them 
in  mid-air  for  its  possession,  an  unusual  occurrence  upon  the  new 
birth  of  a  soul,  but  customary  upon  its  self-sustained  flight  after 
death. 

With  the  aid  of  Jupiter  and  the  warlike  Juno,  who  took 
great  pride  in  upholding  the  power  of  her  own  sex,  the  good  kept 
the  ascendancy  over  the  evil  and  held  safely  their  sacred  trust, 
until  Mars,  beholding  the  contest  from  afar,  came  forth  with  all 
his  warrior  host  to  do  battle  for  the  right,  and  to  present  his  own 
birth- gift  to  the  expected  soul,  known  to  be  that  of  some  great 
sprit  whose  identity  was  shrouded  in  mystery,  the  better  perhaps 
for  its  safe  escort  to  the  Earth,  for  had  it  been  certainly  known, 
every  planet  would  have  claimed  it  as  their  own  and  waged  war 
for  its  possession. 


110  LA   GRAN    QUIBIRA 

"Can  it  be  'she'?"  mused  Mars,  as  he  listened  attentively 
to  the  story  and  to  the  prayers  of  the  commander  of  the  heavenly 
host,  then  aswered:  "Be  it  whom  it  may,  I  will  give  to  it  what 
the  rest  have  done,  the  best  of  my  possessions.  This  is  the  em- 
blem of  my  calling,"  continued  he,  as  he  threw  into  the  golden 
chariot  an  enormous  ruby  that  had  adorned  his  helmet,  which 
was  also  his  crown.  "Its  name  is  'physical  courage.'  Does  it 
not  glow  like  the  flames  of  War  1 ' ' 

' '  Or  like  the  flow  of  life-blood, ' '  thought  the  guardian  spirit, 
though  she  spake  not  the  thought,  but  thanked  the  eagle-beaked 
warrior  and  thankfully  accepted  his  safe  escort  on  their  further 
way,  thanking  Jupiter,  whom  she  no  longer  needed. 

But  Jupiter,  interested  in  the  novel  scene,  and  curious,  as 
was  Juno,  to  know  whose  was  the  soul  so  jealously  disputed,  de- 
clared his  intention  of  accompanying  the  escort  to  its  destina- 
tion, and  of  seeing  this  great  soul,  which  he  guessed  to  be  that 
of  no  stranger  spirit,  to  its  new  sphere,  the  Earth.  "For,"  said 
he,  "It  has  been  ages  since  I  last  visited  that  far-off  planet." 
then  his  brow  clouded  and  he  reviewed  in  thoughtful  silence  the 
scene  of  his  last  visit  to  the  Earth.  The  face  and  form  of  Le 
Ileithe,  surrounded  but  not  hidden  by  the  smoke  and  flames  of 
her  funeral  pyre.  The  smoke  of  its  incense  was  in  his  nostrils 
and  once  more  he  seemed  to  hear  the  voice  of  that  glorious  spirit 
in  its  death-song.  Again  he  reviewed  the  contest  between  his 
own  forces  and  those  of  his  rivals,  Mars  and  Saturn,  for  her 
rescue  and  possession.  Again  he  saw  the  hand  of  God  as  it 
snatched  her  from  their  grasp.  "If  I  were  certain  that  it  were 
'she,'  "  he  soliloquized,  "I  would  be  tempted  to  steal  her  from 
their  midst.  But  were  I  to  be  mistaken,"  he  added,  "I  should 
court  the  same  punishment  as  '  she '  for  no  good  purpose.  No !  I 
will  wait  for  her  coming,  for  if  indeed  it  be  '  she, '  she  will  rise  to 
my  sphere  in  time." 

They  found  the  good  old  Neptune  in  tears,  awaiting  their 
approach,  of  which  he  had  been  warned.  His  tears  were  for  the 
unfortunate  soul  who  had  been  reduced  from  the  court  of 
heaven  to  the  very  lowest  sphere.  But  his  birth-gift  was  ready. 
This  was  an  immense  emerald,  "the  signet  of  the  sea,"  he  said, 
"which  will  unlock  all  the  secrets  of  the  sea.  This  is  my  own 
birthright,  the  insignia  of  my  rank  and  office.  But  it  is  also  a 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  111 

talisman  and  should  this  prove  to  be  'she, '  as  I  fear,  it  may  shield 
her  from  evil." 

"Old  Nep.  is  in  his  dotage,"  commented  Mars,  as,  after 
dropping  his  gift  and  a  few  tears  into  the  car  of  the  soul,  which 
V  Arrowed  an  added  radiance  from  the  scintillating  splendor  of 
its  gifts,  Neptune,  in  his  dolphin-drawn  car  began  to  plough  his 
way  toward  the  seagirt  island  which  formed  the  center  of  his 
dominions  and  Mars  laughingly  added  as  he  took  in  the  passing 
scene:  "All  green  and  watery  alike." 

In  silence  the  convoy  approached  the  mysterious  Uranus, 
whose  ruler  none  knew  in  person.  Some  said  that  the  Sub-Deity 
who  presided  here  was  a  female,  whose  identity  was  hidden  by  a 
thick  mantle  in  which  it  was  always  veiled;  and  others  that  the 
Goddess  was  blind,  she  having  had  her  eyes  removed  because  she 
had  dared  to  pry  into  the  secrets  of  the  Almighty.  Be  this  as  it 
may,  all  thought  it  was  the  voice  of  a  female  which  answered  their 
hail,  and  the  request  made  by  the  guardian  spirit  for  a  boon  and  a 
blessing  upon  an  erring  soul  about  to  begin  a  new  life.  The 
voice  was  sweet,  solemn  and  earnest  as  it  pronounced  the  asked- 
for  blessing,  adding  words  of  advice  and  warning  aside  to  the 
guardian,  fraught  with  the  weight  of  sad  experience. 

A  band  of  lovely  seraphim  making  wierd  and  mournful  mel- 
ody as  they  floated  toward  them,  brought  the  gift  of  this  strange 
Deity  to  the  expectant  host.  This  too  was  a  talisman.  A  thread- 
like chain  of  finest  gold,  woven  in  letters  which  formed  some 
mystic  phrase,  and  from  it  was  suspended  three  tiny  charms,  a 
heart  of  gold  delicately  wrought  and  frosted  over;  a  cross  of  fin- 
est jet  tipped  with  pearls;  and  a  crown  formed  of  a  single  sap- 
phire, which  seemed  to  have  caught  and  held  fast  the  golden 
rays  of  the  sun.  Then  the  mysterious  Uranus  stepped  forth  with 
slow  and  faltering  steps  to  bestow  the  gift  with  her  own  hand, 
as  was  required  of  each  of  the  gods  and  goddesses  in  person.  There 
was  something  awesome  in  the  stern  majesty  of  her  form  and 
bearing,  as  Uranus  advanced  with  slow,  hesitating  grace.  She 
ran  her  fingers  lightly  over,  first  the  car  and  then  its  occupant, 
touching  each  in  turn  as  she  dropped  her  own  offering  among 
the  rest.  As  she  touched  the  latter  she  started  suddenly  and 
demanded:  "Who  is  this?  Is  it  'She?'  ' 

Many  were  the  speculations  regarding  the  mysterious 
Uranus,  among  the  hosts  as  the  great  armies  of  the  planets  moved 
rapidly  toward  Venus. 


112  LA   GRAN    QUffiIRA 

Venus,  peremptorily  summoned  from  her  toilet,  came  half 
laughing,  half  scolding,  in  graceful  dishabile,  and  poured  the 
contents  of  a  well-filled  jewel  casket  pell-mell  into  the  car.  There 
were  all  sorts  of  gems,  set  and  unset,  but  pearls,  and  turquoises, 
and  amethysts  predominated.  Then  she  ran  hastily  back  saying : 
" There's  love,  and  beauty  and  truth  and  if  this  soul  should 
prove  to  be  of  the  sex  we  suspect  and  especially  should  it  prove 
to  be  indeed  '  She ; '  then  will  she  need  all  these  good  gifts  to  en- 
able her  to  steer  safely  through  the  life  to  come."  She  left  be- 
hind her  Cupid,  who  refused  to  follow  her  and  who  joined  the 
guardian  hosts,  amusing  all  with  his  graceful  antics.  Climbing 
the  side  of  the  golden  car,  he  began  an  incipient  flirtation  with 
the  disembodied  soul  which  scintillated  and  sparkled  in  its 
depths. 

From  this  time  forth  the  company  forgot  all  fear  and  ran- 
cor, and  with  music,  mirth  and  dancing  they  hurried  on  to  the 
planet  Mercury. 

Mercury  himself,  needing  no  bidding,  sailed  forth  to  meet 
them,  trusting  to  no  other  hands,  the  magnificent  opal  which  was 
his  own  gift,  and  whose  changeful  hues  bore  a  just  likeness  to 
the  sunny- tempered  god  who  came  to  meet  them  with  dancing 
feet,  and  floating  curls.  His  volatile  spirits  seemed  to  infect  them 
all,  driving  out  all  suspicion  and  dread.  "Sans  Souci,"  he  cried, 
"This  is  my  foster  child,  and  I  give  to  it  the  capability  of  cast- 
ing sorrow  to  the  winds;  of  finding  enjoyment  in  little  things; 
a  thoroughly  happy  nature. ' ' 

"May  it  not  be  drowned  in  Neptune's  tears,"  cried  the 
laughing  Mars. 

Mercury,  likewise,  joined  the  company,  and  admonished  by 
the  guardian  spirit  they  hastened  their  movement  toward  the 
earth.  Enshrouding  themselves  in  darkness  after  leaving  their 
friends,  they  whose  mission  this  was,  hurried  to  their  ultimate 
destination,  as  was  their  need.  For  it  was  now  long  past  the  ap- 
pointed hour  and  the  young  wife  of  Emil  Zorlange  was  well-nigh 
exhausted  by  the  pangs  of  labor. 

The  rival  spirits  of  good  and  evil  made  their  way  to  the 
bedside  of  the  dying  woman  and  were  silent  and  stealthily  fol- 
lowed by  Jupiter,  Juno,  Mars,  Mercury,  and  Cupid,  who  had  re- 
fused to  be  left  behind,  so  curious  were  they  all  as  to  the  identity 
of  the  great  soul  who  had  been  cast  down  from  Heaven  to  Earth. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  113 

The  two  guardian  spirits  who  were  to  hold  this  unknown 
soul  in  trust,  and  to  become  the  sponsors  of  its  every  act,  and 
who  had  eyed  each  other  curiously  throughout  the  whole  of  the 
perilous  journey  they  had  just  accomplished,  each  wondering 
who  was  the  other,  now  hastily  unmasked  and  unhelmeted. 

"Thou?"  and  "Thou,"  as  in  each  other  they  recognized 
the  most  powerful  of  opponent  spirits.  Then  as  they  as  hurriedly 
unwrapped  their  joint  charge,  they  cried  out  in  wondering 
chorus :  ' '  She, ' '  although  they  had  been  half  certain  of  this  fact 
before. 

But  there  was  time  for  naught  but  the  hasty  completion  of 
the  work  they  had  on  hand.  The  great  soul  was  crowded  without 
more  ado  into  the  tiny  body  for  which  it  was  destined,  and  con- 
fined within  its  narrow  prison-house  with  difficulty.  And  just  in 
time,  for  the  young  mother  lay  as  it  seemed,  at  her  very  last  gasp. 
Another  moment  and  they  would  have  had  to  contend  for  the 
possession  of  a  homeless  spirit,  hand  to  hand,  to  determine 
whether  or  no  it  would  be  forced  to  fight  its  way  backward  to  the 
sun,  or  become  at  once  the  victim  of  evil  who  would  then  also 
hold  its  good  angel  captive. 

The  soul  bound  within  the  narrow  compass,  the  good  spirit 
hastened  to  bestow  the  gifts  she  had  secured  for  her  protege 
and  found  to  her  dismay  that  the  evil  Genius  had  by  his  touch 
dimmed  the  beauty  of  all,  and  impaired  their  lustre  by  casting 
over  them  the  glance  of  sly  suspicion. 

The  last  act  of  this  restless  spirit  in  the  world  from  which 
it  had  been  banished  had  been  one  of  rebellion.  Its  first  act  in 
its  new  sphere  was  one  of  rebellion  also.  This  glorious  spirit, 
finding  itself  confined  within  so  small  a  casket,  looked  out  in 
anger  and  resentment  from  starry  eyes,  and  fighting  the  air  with 
tiny,  clinched  fists,  gave  forth  a  shrill  war  cry  and  held  in  close 
captivity  the  fore-finger  of  the  delighted  Mars. 

The  cry  was  so  unexpected  and  so  belligerent,  coming  from 
so  small  a  specimen  of  humanity,  that  all  were  convulsed  with 
laughter.  The  tiny  babe  lying  beside  its  unconscious  earth- 
mother,  seemed  startled  at  its  own  vehemence  and  smiled  as  it 
closed  its  eyes  in  sleep. 

The  guardian  angel  smiled  too,  yet  shook  her  head  in  mis- 
giving that  the  insubordinate  spirit  could  not  be  conquered,  and 
leaning  over  the  child  to  shield  it  from  the  further  touch  of  evil, 
she  breathed  a  few  words  into  the  mother's  ear. 


114  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

Again  the  feeble  war  cry  broke  defiantly  upon  the  air,  and 
this  time  the  visiting  host  who  had  presided  at  the  scene  fled  lest 
their  irrepressible  laughter  might  be  heard.  The  evil  genius  went 
with  them,  smarting  under  the  taunts  of  the  good  spirit,  leav- 
ing Emil  Zorlange  's  little  daughter  to  the  charge  of  her  guardian 
angel  during  her  infancy,  but  leaving  every  infantile  disease  to 
prey  upon  the  tiny  form  in  turn. 

This  was  the  vision  which  the  young  mother  saw  as  she  lay 
hovering  between  life  and  death,  called  back  to  life  by  the  war 
cry  of  her  babe,  and  by  the  summons  of  the  guardian  spirit,  who 
had  whispered  "Come  back.  Thy  child  hath  need  of  thee." 

The  war  cry  of  the  child  brought  into  the  room  forms  more 
realistic  than  those  who  had  vanished  as  the  mother  awoke  to 
consciousness. 

Emil  Zorlange 's  amused  yet  anxious  face  appeared  at  the 
door  of  the  adjoining  room;  while  the  doctor  and  nurse  came 
closer  to  the  bedside  laughing  outright. 

"Zorlange,"  said  the  old  doctor,  "this  is  certainly  the  tiniest, 
daintiest  and  most  spirited  bit  of  humanity  that  it  has  ever  been 
my  good  fortune  to  assist  to  take  its  first  step  into  this  world. 
Just  look  at  her.  She  has  more  of  the  fairy  about  her  than  of  the 
nineteenth  century  child  of  the  period.  Was  ever  anything  so 
perfect?"  He  asked,  turning  back  the  blanket  in  which  it  was  en- 
veloped, and  disclosing  the  tiny  babe,  naked  except  for  its  swad- 
dling band.  "She  looks  like  a  toy  perfectly  sculptured  in  pearly 
wax.  And  oh,  what  glorious  eyes.  And  what  spunk,"  as  the 
tiny  object  of  his  admiration  gazed  back  at  him  defiantly,  and 
fighting  the  air  with  feet  and  doubled  fists,  emitted  a  third  war 
whoop,  then  smiled  again  as  if  at  its  own  vehemence.  "I  will 
watch  that  girl's  career  with  interest,  and  venture  to  predict 
that  she  will  make  a  stir  in  the  world  " 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  115 


CANTO  THE  SECOND. 


Emil  Zorlange  was  born  in  Philadelphia  of  Quaker  parents. 
His  father,  as  his  name  indicates,  was  a  native  of  France.  Or- 
phaned at  an  early  age,  he  had  been  sent  abroad  to  school.  He 
had  intended  to  live  abroad  as  well.  Settling  for  a  time  in  Lon- 
don, the  young  poet  met  and  carried  off  the  prize  par-excellence, 
the  beauty  of  the  season,  a  German  Countess  without  domain. 

About  this  time  "the  Quaker  poet"  as  he  was  called,  fell 
under  suspicion  as  being  the  leader  of  a  dangerous  seditious  fac- 
tion. The  suspicion,  absurd  as  it  was,  gained  ground  somehow, 
and  Emil  Zorlange  was  requested  to  leave  the  kingdom. 

If  a  jealous  desire  to  separate  the  lovers  was,  as  some  sus- 
pected, the  cause  of  the  young  poet,  who  knew  as  much  about 
politics  as  the  babe  unborn,  becoming  a  political  suspect,  the 
scheme  failed,  for  the  dazed,  yet  wrathful  dreamer  carried  the 
beauty  of  the  London  season  with  him  to  America  as  his  bride. 

That  was  two  years  ago,  and  this  was  their  first  born.  This 
little  waif  from  fairy  land,  as  the  happy  father  called  her ;  this 
tiny  radiant  being,  was  formally  christened  "Marguerite." 

The  voyage  across  the  ocean  had  seemed  to  tax  the  strength 
of  the  beautiful  young  bride  too  greatly,  and  her  health,  which 
had  failed  at  that  time  grew  no  better  after  the  birth  of  her 
child. 

The  tiny  Marguerite  grew  like  a  slender  flower,  fragile  and 
lovely.  Heir  to  all  the  ills  of  childhood,  she  outlived  them  all,  but 
twice  was  she  snatched  from  the  hands  of  death  who  had  laid 
hold  upon  her  by  the  fond  mother  who  breathed  her  own  life 
breath  into  her  child. 

They  called  her  "Pearl,"  but  oftenest,  "Daisy,"  she  was 
such  a  wee  blossom  of  babyhood. 

Daisy  never  forgot  the  scene  of  her  mother's  death  bed. 
The  child  was  but  five  years  of  age.  The  mother  had,  two  years 
before,  given  birth  to  a  beautiful  strong-limbed  boy,  who  was  the 
delight  of  all.  But  always  the  gentle  mother's  eyes  rested  with 
more  wistful  tenderness  upon  her  first  born.  The  child,  with 


116  LA  GRAN  QUIBIEA 

her  slender  stalk  of  a  body  which  looked  as  if  the  first  adverse 
wind  might  break  it,  with  her  April  day  temperament  all  smiles 
and  tears,  her  firm,  decisive  will  and  defiant  air  was  a 
source  of  never-ending  wonder  to  her,  and  she  could  not  help  but 
feel  that  some  unwonted  fate  would  be  her  portion. 

The  little  Ernest  sickened  with  one  of  the  ailments  peculiar 
to  childhood  and  the  delicate  mother  watching  her  darling,  sick- 
ened too.  In  spite  of  all  her  care  the  beautiful  boy  died,  and 
with  this  stroke  the  mother's  life  was  ended  too.  She  strove  hard 
to  rally  from  the  blow,  but  it  was  too  great  a  strain  upon  fc«r 
strength.  Clasping  her  little  one  to  her  breast  she  said :  ' '  Emil, 
I  am  going  with  Ernest.  I  leave  you  Daisy  for  your  consolation 
and  companionship.  Watch  over  her  and  care  for  her  tenderly, 
remembering  that  she  is  not  like  others." 

The  promise  was  given;  the  last  "good-bye"  spoken  and 
Marguerite  Zorlange  slept  the  sleep  that  is  said  to  "know  no 
wakening. ' ' 

Daisy  had  been  brought  to  bid  farewell  to  the  fair  young 
mother. '  One  hand  she  rested  upon  the  marble  brow  of  the  little 
brother  whom  she  had  so  fondly  loved,  while  the  other  was  held 
by  the  dying  mother,  but  Daisy's  eyes  were  fixed  with  strange  in- 
tensity upon  seeming  space. 

"Didst  see  them,  fayther,"  she  asked,  as  Emil  Zorlange 
strained  his  last  remaining  treasure  to  his  bosom:  "Didst  thou 
also  see  the  beautiful  angels  as  they  reached  down  and  took  my 
mother  and  brother  Ernest  in  their  arms?"  There  were  two 
mothers  and  two  Ernests,  the  ones  who  lie  asleep  here,  and  those 
who  left,  laughing  and  throwing  back  kisses  to  use  when  the 
angels  bore  them  away  and  said :  '  Come,  come  to  us  very  soon.'  " 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  117 

CANTO  THE  THIRD. 

"PASSION  FLO  WEES/' 

It  had  been  a  day  or  two  previous  to  this  that  the  little 
daughter  of  the  hired  nurse  had  begged  that  she  might  be  per- 
mitted to  take  wee  Daisy  with  her  to  the  public  school.  Thinking 
that  this  change  might  distract  the  attention  of  the  child  from 
what  was  passing  in  her  home,  permission  was  granted,  and  the 
two  set  off  in  high  glee.  Upon  the  route  to  the  school,  the  child- 
ren passed  by  a  beautiful  garden,  whose  luxuriant  growth  over- 
run its  boundary  fence.  A  lovely  white  rose  nodded  its  per- 
fumed head  just  above  them  and  Daisy,  notwithstanding  the 
frightened  warning  of  her  companion,  sprang  upward,  and  at 
the  third  bound  secured  the  prize.  A  heavy  blow  from  a  stout 
cudgel  caused  the  child  to  utter  a  shriek  of  dismay  and  pain.  But 
it  was  a  noticeable  feature  of  Daisy's  character  that  she  never 
gave  up  anything  that  she  undertook,  so  she  held  fast  to  her  rose 
in  spite  of  the  pain,  and  turned  angrily  upon  the  old  man  whose 
hard  face  appeared  above  the  palings:  "How  dared  thee?" 

"And  how  dare  thee,"  shouted  the  irate  old  man;  "How 
dared  thee  to  steal  my  rose?" 

"It  is  mine:"  said  Daisy  stoutly. 

"Why,"  said  the  old  man,  "The  young  one  can  lie  as  well 
as  steal." 

' '  The  rose  nodded  to  me  and  said,  '  Come  and  get  me,  little 
Daisy.  I  am  thine.  Come  and  get  me.'  ' 

"Oh,"  groaned  Cyrus  Brooks:  "What  is  the  world  coming 
to  when  a  midget  like  that  can  tell  such  falsehoods?  But  what 
is  the  matter  with  your  hand,  sissy,"  he  asked  with  some  fear  in 
his  voice? 

Great  tears  were  in  Daisy's  eyes  as  she  said  reproachfully: 
"That  is  where  thou  struck  me,  thou  bad,  bad  man." 

The  old  man  scrambled  hastily  to  the  top  of  the  fence,  and 
reaching  over,  raised  the  child  gently  and  set  her  down  upon  the 
other  side  in  the  very  midst  of  the  forbidden  garden. 

"  I  am  old  and  cranky, ' '  he  said,  and  added,  apologetically : 
"I  spend  all  of  my  time  in  the  cultivation  of  the  beautiful,  and 


118  LA  GEAN  QUIBIRA 

am  plagued  by  the  boys  and  girls  of  the  school  who  steal  my 
choicest  blossoms;  but  I  would  not  willingly  have  hurt  any  one 
like  that,  and  certainly  not  so  lovely  a  little  mite  as  you.  Why, 
now  that  I  look  upon  you,  you  are  as  sweet  as  my  peerless  white 
rose,"  and  caressing  the  bruised  and  bleeding  hand  of  the  child, 
he  carried  her  to  his  wife  that  she  might  dress  the  wound,  telling 
her  the  story  and  berating  himself  soundly  for  his  own  cruelty. 

Mrs.  Brooks  bathed  and  dressed  not  only  the  bleeding  hand 
but  the  tear-stained  face  as  well,  delighted  to  serve  so  dainty  a 
morsel  of  humanity,  exclaiming  over  the  beauty  of  the  child,  her 
grace  and  sweetness,  but  a  little  sorrowful  that  Daisy  persistently 
held  fast  to  her  flower,  crying  passionately:  "It  is  mine.  It  is 
mine. ' ' 

Cleansed  and  soothed  and  petted,  Grandpa  Brooks,  as  she 
already  learned  to  call  him,  carried  the  child  into  the  garden  and 
loaded  her  with  flowery  treasures,  especially  the  blossoms  from 
the  rose  tree  from  which  the  theft  had  been  committed,  the  chef 
de  auvre  of  his  own  hybridizing,  and  which,  having  no  name  as 
yet,  he  delighted  the  child  by  christening  after  herself,  the  "Mar- 
guerite Zorlange"  rose. 

The  old  man  was  not  sparing  of  his  floral  offerings,  but  cut 
for  the  child  a  great  bundle  of  his  choicest  flowers  and  when  she 
finally  fell  asleep  upon  the  mossy  grasses  under  the  great  rose 
tree,  it  smote  him  to  the  very  heart  to  see  that  she  still  held  close 
the  rose  that  had  been  the  cause  of  their  dispute,  while  his 
choicests  blossoms  were  dropped  carelessly  at  her  side. 

This  wee  bit  of  stubborn  humanity  who  was  not  to  be  turned 
from  the  desire  of  her  heart,  was  a  revelation  to  him  and  sug- 
gested thoughts  which  placed  the  actions  of  the  others  in  a  new 
light  and  he  could  not  but  wonder  if  there  had  been  another  ob- 
ject in  their  theft  of  his  flowrers,  as  he  had  always  considered  it, 
than  the  mere  wish  to  annoy  him.  The  school  children  were 
amazed  next  morning  to  hear  the  voice  of  the  surly  old  gardener 
call  out  to  them,  as  they  passed  by :  "I  say  boys.  You  are  quite 
welcome  to  all  of  the  flowers  that  bloom  upon  the  outside  of  my 
fence."  And  great  was  his  own  amazement  that  the  answer 
was:  "Thank  you,  sir.  We  would  like  a  few  to  present  to  our 
teacher,  and  will  not  disturb  the  rest,  they  look  so  pretty  grow- 
ing where  they  do."  It  had  never  once  occurred  to  him  that  they 
had  taken  them  because  they  really  loved  the  flowers,  and  not,  as 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  119 

he  had  supposed,  out  of  that  mischievous  desire  to  tease  him 
that  they  might  hear  him  scold  and  swear. 

You  may  be  certain  that  after  this  the  teacher's  desk  was 
never  without  a  fresh  bouquet,  not  taken  from  the  outside  of  the 
fence,  but  cut  from  the  stalks  by  Grandpa  Brooks'  own  hand, 
and  presented  by  the  boys  and  girls  in  regular  routine.  It  was 
wonderful  how  rapidly  the  passion  for  the  cultivation  of  flowers 
grew  in  them  all.  Each  must  have  his  or  her  own  garden  filled 
with  growth  from  seeds  or  cuttings  from  Grandpa  Brooks'  nur- 
sery, and  many  were  the  solemn  consultations  held  in  which  their 
curly  locks  were  brought  into  close  proximity  to  the  grizzly  locks 
of  the  counselor. 


120  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

CANTO  THE  FOUETH. 

"EQUAL  EIGHTS." 

"Daisy,"  said  Emil  Zorlange,  leading  his  little  daughter 
into  the  house:  "I  will  not  permit  thee  to  play  with  such  dis- 
reputable company.  Remember,  I  forbade. thee  to  seek  the  com- 
pany of  this  little  black  again." 

"Fayther,"  said  Daisy,  with  an  inimitable  drawl,  the  little 
mimic  insisted  upon  using  the ' '  plain  language, "  "  Fayther,  Thu- 
cydides  is  a  very  nice  boy." 

"Thucydides,"  echoed  the  father,  "And  is  that  the  ap- 
pellation of  the  little  black?" 

"Thucydides,"  repeated  Daisy  in  stout  defense  of  her  play- 
mate, "is  a  very  nice  boy  and  is  so  pretty  and  shiny  that  I  call 
him  'a  sooty  little  angel'  and  kiss  him  and  ask  him  why  he 
came  down  the  chimney  and  soiled  his  pretty  white  wings  and 
dress  instead  of  coming  straight  down  into  the  yard?  and  he 
said  that  it  was  because  he  was  in  such  a  hurry  to  see  me. ' ' 

"And  such  is  feminine  vanity,"  said  her  father  in  disgust, 
then  turning  to  Daisy's  nurse  he  said:  "Janet,  see  that  thy 
young  mistress  does  not  leave  thy  sight.  I  do  not  like  that  she 
should  be  left  to  seek  such  companionship.  Ugh !  And  she  owns 
to  having  kissed  the  negro  boy. ' ' 

' ( Fayther.  I  have  heard  thee  say  that  there  should  be  no  dis- 
tinction between  men. because  of  difference  of  race  or  color.  I 
love  Thucydides.  And  I  will  play  with  him  when  I  choose. ' ' 

For  the  first  time  in  her  life,  Emil  Zorlange  shook  his  daugh- 
ter and  spoke  harshly  to  her.  ' '  Thou  wilt  keep  from  all  such  low 
associates, ' '  he  said.  ' '  No  negro  is  a  fit  companion  for  the  daugh- 
ter of  a  gentleman.  I  forbid  thee  to  have  him  here  again.  Dost 
understand?  Thou  must  obey  me  in  this." 

"No,"  said  Daisy  quietly,  "I  will  not  obey.  And,"  she  added 
with  true  Quakerish  simplicity  of  argument,  "all  men  are  born 
free  and  equal.  Thucydides  is  my  brother.  I  love  the  Black. ' ' 

Emil  Zorlange  was  non-plussed.  He  looked  at  the  child  for 
a  few  minutes  and  arrived  at  the  sensible  conclusion  that  the  only 
way  to  prevent  her  from  getting  into  further  mischief,  was  to 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  121 

occupy  her  thoughts  and  time  with  something  which  would  show 
her  the  difference  of  station  without  offending  her  sense  of  jus- 
tice; for  despite  his  Quaker  belief  and  origin,  he  was  a  firm  be- 
liever in  "Caste." 

At  length  he  said :  ' '  Daisy,  thou  wilt  ever  be  the  mistress  of 
thy  father's  house.  Suppose  that  thou  beginnest  at  once.  From 
this  moment  thou  canst  take  charge.  Give  Janet  her  orders  for 
the  day." 

Nothing  loth,  the  delighted  child  issued  her  orders  in  a 
domineering  manner  most  distasteful  to  Emil  Zorlange's  gentle- 
manly instincts,  and  for  which  he  promptly  reproved  her.  ' 

Then  Daisy  coaxed.  But  this  she  was  told  was  equally  out 
of  place. 

The  child  thought  awhile,  then  saying:  "I  understand  per- 
fectly what  thou  meanest  by  the  relation  and  duties  of  the  mas- 
ter or  the  mistress  to  their  servants, ' '  she  gave  her  order  for  the 
third  time  in  a  manner  that  delighted  her  father,  and  Janet  as 
well,  the  mother's  nurse,  who  had  succeeded  to  the  care  of  the 
children  as  they  came  and  was  looked  upon  as  housekeeper  par 
excellence  since  the  death  of  Mrs.  Zorlange. 

Daisy  never  forgot  her  first  lesson  in  housekeeping^  and  thus 
at  six  years  of  age,  she  was  installed  as  mistress  of  the  establish- 
ment. And  never  was  house  ruled  after  better  fashion.  It  was 
the  wonder  and  admiration  of  all  who  visited  it,  and  it  accom- 
plished what  Emil  Zorlange  had  hoped  that  it  would ;  it  kept  his 
little  daughter  out  of  mischief  by  occupying  her  time  and  at- 
tention, and  gave  her  beyond  every  thing  else,  the  true  idea  of 
the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  different  classes,  which  were  to 
be  used,  but  never  by  the  superior,  to  be  abused. 


122  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

CANTO  THE  FIFTH. 

"COWING   THE   BULL." 

Daisy  was  about  eight  years  old.  Left  to  her  own  devices, 
but  over  looked  with  tenderest  care  by  her  father,  whose  sole 
companion  she  was,  and  by  the  good  nurse  Janet  whose  idol  she 
was,  she  developed  many  little  originalities  of  character  and 
habits  which  delighted  both,  and  which  were  fostered  rather  than 
corrected.  She  governed  the  house,  ordered  all  its  equipments, 
ordered  the  dinners  and  bought  all  the  household  necessities, 
selected  her  own  clothing  and  above  all  she  insisted  upon  attend- 
ing the  public  school. 

It  was  upon  her  way  to  school  after  her  mid  day  lunch  that 
Daisy,  who  had  taken  the  shortest  cut  from  the  rear  gateway  of 
her  home  down  an  alley  which  led  to  the  street  beyond,  espied  a 
great  black  bull  upon  the  opposite  side  of  the  way.  Daisy  was 
much  terrified  at  the  very  particular  notice  taken  of  her  by  the 
bull  which  she  was  obliged  to  pass.  But  she  was  a  brave  little 
creature  and  would  not  turn  back.  She  fixed  her  eyes  steadily 
upon  those  of  the  bull  and  backed  away.  The  bull  regarded  her 
as  steadily  in  turn,  then  seeming  to  take  sudden  umbrage  at  the 
child 's  gaze,  he  put  down  his  head  and  gave  forth  an  angry  roar, 
stood  for  a  moment  as  if  reflecting,  then  lunged  forward  to  at- 
tack her. 

"Run.  Run  for  your  life,  my  child.  This  way  quick,  quick 
and  quicker." 

Daisy  needed  not  the  bidding,  for  at  the  first  angry  bellow 
of  the  infuriated  animal,  she  had  turned  and  sped  like  a  lapwing 
toward  the  carpenter  shop  from  which  the  warning  voices  had 
come.  Fleet  of  foot,  she  outstripped  the  bull  and  stood  panting 
and  breathless  beside  the  group  of  men  who,  alarmed  at  the  as- 
pect of  the  enraged  beast,  hastily  closed  and  barred  the  door. 
This  was  well.  For,  a  moment  later  the  brute  threw  his  full 
weight  against  it  and  prodded  the  stout  wood  with  his  horns  and 
hoofs,  time  and  time  again,  then  walked  surlily  away,  in  dignified 
disgust. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  123 

It  was  not  until  he  had  given  up  the  attempt  to  force  the 
barrier  that  even  the  stout-hearted  men  breathed  freely,  and 
throwing  open  the  door  began  to  question  the  child. 

"It  was  the  color  of  your  coat,  my  little  '  Bed  Eiding 
Hood,'  that  threw  him  into  such  a  passion,"  said  one.  "But 
why  did  not  you  run  at  first  ? "  he  asked  curiously. 

"I  thought  that  I  could  cow  him,"  answered  Daisy  simply. 
"I  have  read  that  if  one  fixes  their  eyes  steadily  upon  those  of 
an  angry  wild  beast,  they  can  be  cowed  by  the  steadfast  gaze." 

Such  a  shout  of  laughter  as  went  from  those  hardy  men  is 
seldom  heard. 

"Were  you  not  afraid,  my  little  maid?" 

"Oh,  yes,"  said  Daisy,  "I  was  very  much  afraid,  but  I 
wanted  to  know  for  myself  if  the  story  were  really  true." 

The  men  looked  in  amazement  at  this  slender  little  "Will 
o'-the-wisp"  form  standing  so  quietly  there,  which  seemed  as 
if  the  first  strong  wind  might  blow  away;  at  the  delicate  face  in 
which  the  color  came  and  went  in  fitful  waves ;  the  great  starry 
eyes  that  dilated  and  contracted  with  wonder  and  terror  at  the 
thought  of  the  intractable  brute,  at  the  firmly  compressed  lips, 
and  at  the  attitude  of  quiet  self  control,  and  said:  "This  child 
is  a  truly  wonderful  creature.  There  is  something  in  her." 

The  story  followed  her,  and  for  years  Daisy  heard  very  often 
of  her  futile  attempt  to  "cow  the  bull."  Strangers  frequently 
left  the  group  of  idlers  who  thronged  about  the  hotels  along  the 
principal  streets  of  the  place  through  which  she  passed  upon  her 
way  to  school,  and  turning  upward  to  their  gaze  the  delicate 
flowerlike  face  of  the  child,  and  looking  down  into  the  shy  fright- 
ened eyes,  would  roar  with  laughter  as  they  accosted  her,  crying 
in  wonder:  "So  this  is  the  little  girl  who  thought  that  she  could 
'cow  the  bull,'  "  much  to  the  wrath  of  that  small  experimentalist. 


124  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 


CANTO  THE  SIXTH. 
"HAYCYON  DAYS." 

It  was  the  first  day  of  the  school  year.  Teachers  and  scholars 
had  separated  and  gone  to  their  respective  rooms,  and  had  taken 
the  seats  allotted  to  them.  Miss  Prentice  herself,  busily  talking 
to  a  pupil  from  another  room,  called  out  in  the  midst  of  her  ex- 
planations: "Miss  Zorlange,"  then  as  no  one  responded  to  the 
call,  she  repeated  in  a  tone  of  impatience,  "Miss  Zorlange." 

Daisy  Zorlange  looked  around  her  in  great  surprise.  Then, 
as  no  one  else  answered  to  the  summons,  and  the  other  occupants 
of  the  room  were  motioning  toward  herself,  she  arose  and  slowly 
came  to  the  front. 

Daisy  was  twelve  years  old  now  and  as  she  stood  there  she 
made  a  pretty  picture.  The  September  breezes  which  swept  in 
at  the  open  windows  swayed  the  light  draperies  which  encased 
her  slight  form,  and  in  gentle  caress  tossed  the  light  curls  play- 
fully about.  Her  skin  was  of  that  strange  pearly  tint  which  looks 
somehow  as  if  the  soul  were  lighting  up  the  countenance  from 
within.  Her  star-like  eyes  were  fixed  for  the  most  part  upon  Miss 
Prentice's  scowling  face,  but  turned  at  times  toward  her  school 
mates  as  if  in  search  of  sympathy. 

All  the  time  she  was  thinking  of  her  new  teacher:  "How 
very  beautiful  she  is.  I  wonder,  oh  I  wonder  why  she  hates  me 
so, ' '  for  the  child  met  only  scowling  frowns,  instead  of  the  smiling 
loving  glances  her  own  sweet  and  dainty  prettiness  should  have 
inspired.  Then  she  repeated:  "I  wonder  why  they  all  hate  me 
so?" 

At  length  Miss  Prentice  turned  to  her  and  asked  crossly: 
"Why  did  you  not  come  when  I  called  you?" 

Daisy  made  a  little  deprecating  gesture  and  smiled  as  she 
said:  "No  one  ever  addressed  me  as  'Miss  Zorlange'  before. 
I  did  not  understand  that  it  was  I  whom  thou  wanted." 

"Humph,"  said  Miss  Prentice,  "And  what  do  they  call 
you?" 

"Daisy,"  replied  the  child  simply. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTEBY  125 

"  'Daisy,'  indeed,"  snarled  the  teacher  as  if  personally  ag- 
grieved, ' '  I  wonder  why  people  cannot  give  their  children  a  name 
and  not  some  silly  nonsensical  name  of  a  flower  or  bird  or  gem  ? ' ' 

''Thou  might  call  me  'Marguerite,'  "  suggested  Daisy 
sweetly  with  so  exaggerated  an  effort  to  please,  as  to  set  the  school 
girls  to  tittering. 

"Is  your  name  Marguerite?"  inquired  Miss  Prentice  with 
some  asperity. 

"It  is  a — ah — synonym,  is  it  not?"  inquired  Daisy,  a  mis- 
chievous sparkle  in  her  downcast  eyes. 

"The  child's  a  fool,"  muttered  the  irate  spinster,  to  the  de- 
light of  Daisy  who  then  looked  at  her  pitifully  and  repeated  to 
herself  once  more :  ' '  How  very  beautiful  she  is.  But  I  wonder 
why  she  hates  me  so. ' '  And  frightened  at  her  asperity  cast  her 
eyes  about  her  again  in  search  of  the  sympathy  she  did  not  re- 
ceive. Every  where  she  encountered  only  sour  faces. 

"Miss  Zorlange,"  repeated  the  teacher  in  a  tone  that  might 
have  meant  that  she  felt  personally  aggrieved  in  the  matter,  ' '  I, 
myself  do  not  approve  of  making  such  distinctions  among  pupils 
of  the  same  classes,  but  I  have  been  requested  by  the  superinten- 
dent to  say  that  Miss  Zorlange,  the  youngest  by  two  years,  of  the 
school,  has  passed  the  most  successful  examination  of  any  pupil 
of  this,  or  indeed  of  any  previous  year  and  that  from  the  second 
class  of  the  grammer  school,  she  standing  9.99  the  highest  per- 
cent as  it  is  said,  ever  attained  by  any  pupil  who  entered  the 
high  school."  This  was  said  with  such  a  degree  of  acrimony  as 
to  effectually  veil  the  real  object  of  this  public  compliment.  And 
Miss  Prentice  added  spitefully:  "I  do  not  believe  in  prodigies. 
There  is  generally  something  to  offset  all  their  remarkable  talents. 
I  dare  say  now  that  this  young  lady's  former  schoolmates  know 
of  something  to  her  discredit. ' ' 

"She  steals  flowers,"  said  Juliet  Delmar,  despite  the  numer- 
ous cries  of  "For  shame,  Juliet  Delmar.  For  shame."  For  it 
was  to  Daisy's  theft  of  the  "Marguerite  Zorlange"  rose  in  her 
infancy  that  Juliet  referred. 

"I  thought  as  much,"  said  Miss  Prentice,  coolly  ignoring 
all  explanations.  "Miss  Zorlange,  you  may  go  to  your  seat.  No. 
Not  there,"  as  Daisy  would  have  resumed  the  seat  she  had  left. 
"You  will  share  Miss  Carson's  desk." 

This  was  pointed  out  to  Daisy,  to  whom  Miss  Carson  was  a 
stranger  and  she  found  to  her  dismay  that  the  seatmate  whom 


126  LA  GRAN  QUmiBA 

she  was  to  have  for  the  future  was  the  oldest  and  grimmest  look- 
ing girl  in  the  school  room.  She  obeyed  however,  without  com- 
ment and  seated  herself  beside  the  object  of  her  terror,  casting 
such  timid,  frightened  glances  into  the  hard  set  face  that  it  sud- 
denly relaxed  into  an  encouraging  smile,  at  which  Daisy  flung 
her  arms  about  Miss  Carson's  neck  and  sobbed  as  if  her  heart 
would  break. 

"Miss  Carson,"  called  out  the  teacher  sharply,  "remove 
Miss  Zorlange  from  the  room  and  remain  with  her  until  she  can 
remember  the  duties  required  of  a  young  lady  of  this  Grade." 

"She  is  but  a  little  child,  and  has  been  too  hardly  dealt 
with,"  said  Virginia  Carson,  as  she  led  the  sobbing  Daisy  from 
the  school  room  into  the  dressing  room  outside. 

A  few  minutes  later,  Howard  Gould,  another  new  pupil, 
found  them,  and  forgetting  for  the  time  the  errand  upon  which 
he  was  bound,  stopped  before  the  twain  and  cried:  "Oh,  what 
a  lovely  child.  Where  did  you  come  from,  Titania?" 

"From  Fairy  Land,  of  course,"  sobbed  Daisy,  "Where 
else?" 

Thereupon,  Howard,  forgetting  the  errand  that  he  had 
been  sent  upon,  took  the  little  girl  in  his  arms  and  soothed  and 
petted  her  and  with  kisses  and  caresses  soon  changed  her  tears  to 
smiles. 

The  trio  lingered  in  the  hallway  until  sharply  summoned  to 
the  school  room.  And  there  was  cemented  a  friendship  which 
lasted  throughout  their  lives,  and  this  day  marked  an  era  in 
their  three  lives  as  well. 

It  was  through  many  a  pang  of  jealousy  that  the  love  of 
Virginia  Carson  was  given  to  Daisy,  but  it  was  all  the  stronger 
for  that,  and  the  injustice  done  the  child  awakened  a  sort  of 
motherly  instinct  of  defence  in  the  heart  of  the  elder  girl. 

Virginia  was  twenty  now,  yet  this  little  girl  of  twelve  far 
outstripped  her  in  their  studies.  Virginia,  it  is  true,  had  not 
possessed  the  advantage  of  steadily  attending  school  and  was  ex- 
tremely slow  of  progress,  yet  it  was  her  intention  to  fit  herself 
to  become  a  teacher.  It  seemed  to  her  little  short  of  marvelous 
how,  when  with  throbbing  head  and  knitted  brow  she  vainly 
strove  to  solve  some  knotty  problem  in  mathematics,  Daisy,  with 
a  merry  laugh  would  ask  her  a  pertinent  question  or  two  and 
lo,  the  clouds  of  doubt  were  swept  away  and  all  was  made  clear 
as  crystal  to  her. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  127 

Daisy's  tact  as  a  teacher  was  beyond  question.  She  never 
did  her  pupil's  work,  but  by  a  few  well  worded  questions,  made 
the  crooked  path  straight  that  she  might  travel  it  by  herself,  and 
so  remember  the  route,  the  better  to  make  good  her  way  the  next 
time. 

The  two  were  descending  the  stairway  together  upon  the  sec- 
ond day  of  the  school  term,  when  they  were  halted  by  no  less  a 
person  than  superintendent  Kingsley,  himself. 

"Now,  my  little  Minerva,"  he  said,  placing  his  hand  gently 
upon  Daisy's  curly  head,  "Tell  me  why  you  did  not  finish  the 
solution  of  that  Arithmetical  problem  upon  examination  day  ?  Do 
you  know  that  had  you  done  so  your  per  cent,  must  have  been  10, 
as  your  papers  would  then  have  been  perfect?" 

"It  was  long  past  lunch  time  and  I  was  very  hungry,"  was 
the  reply.  "So  I  began  it  correctly  and  put  down  the  result,  I 
supposed  that  it  would  do  as  well  as  if  the  work  were  all  written 
out.  How  dost  thou  think  I  got  the  correct  answer  without  work- 
ing the  thing,  I  should  like  to  know?" 

' '  Sure  enough,  my  dear.  Well,  if  you  will  come  into  my  room 
here  and  write  out  what  you  omitted  then.  I  will  place  it  upon 
the  records  as  the  only  really  perfect  work  ever  accomplished 
since  the  founding  of  the  school.  And  this,  by  one  of  the  three 
scholars  who  have  passed  our  rigid  examinations  and  entered  the 
high  school  at  the  age  of  twelve.  I  can  tell  you  my  little  miss 
that  most  of  your  elders  passed  in  by  the  skin  of  their  teeth,  as  it 
were,  this  year.  There  were  lots  of  'posers'  among  the  ques- 
tions. ' ' 

Daisy  did  as  she  was  requested,  then  ran  away  from  all  quer- 
ies and  compliments,  muttering  something  not  altogether  respect- 
ful concerning  "Old  Cent-per- cent. " 

Upon  the  demand  of  the  superintendent,  Virginia  related 
the  occurrence  of  the  first  day  of  the  term  in  Miss  Prentice's 
room. 

' '  A  mean-spirited  jealousy.  I  will  set  that  right.  The  child 
shall  have  her  dues.  It  is  but  a  just  reward  for  her  bright  wit, 
and  she  is  as  lovely  and  lovable  as  she  is  intelligent.  Miss  Car- 
son, I  bespeak  for  her  your  protection  and  care, ' '  and  he  laughed 
heartily  at  Daisy's  ready  wit  in  christening  himself,  "Old  Cent- 
per  cent." 

Poor  Daisy!  Superintendent  Kingsley  fulfilled  his  promise 
and  to  the  horror  of  the  shy  child,  she  was  called  upon  next 


128  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

morning  to  face  the  united  school,  and  to  endure  the  complimen- 
tary remarks  of  the  superintendent,  given  at  full  length  before 
the  audience  of  both  sexes,  which  out-numbered  five  to  one  the 
first  which  had  heard  the  first  announcement  so  grudgingly 
given. 

It  was  hard  to  tell  whether  this,  openly  spoken,  did  Daisy 
harm  or  good.  The  girls  who  shared  the  same  study-room  were 
indignant  that  the  youngest  of  the  class  should  be  given  the 
precedence  over  them,  no  matter  how  justly,  for  feminine  respect 
for  justice  is  but  slight.  And  it  was  long  before  Miss  Prentice 
forgave  the  child  for  the  public  rebuke  which  she,  herself ^  had 
received  upon  her  account. 

With  the  boys  it  was  altogether  different.  They  were  filled 
with  wonder  and  delight  at  the  lovely  prodigy  whose  lessons 
seemed  to  come  to  her  by  some  sqrt  of  instinct  instead  of  having 
to  be  courted  with  the  long  and  assiduous  attentions  which  they 
were  all  obliged,  without  exception,  to  bestow  upon  their  own. 

The  inevitable  ball  club  organized  that  day,  was  chris- 
tened without  a  single  dissenting  vote  ' '  The  Daisies, ' '  and  Daisy 
Zorlange  was  chosen  Umpire  of  all  their  games. 

The  rival  club,  formed  later,  who  had  chosen  the  handsome 
dark-eyed  Juliet  Delmar  for  its  toast,  applying  to  Daisy  for  a 
suitable  name,  she  suggested,  with  a  teasing  glance  at  the  sallow 
skin  of  her  bete  noir,  "Buttercups." 

And  in  spite  of  Juliet's  angry  protest  they  were  charmed 
with  the  name  as  approximately  opposed  to  the  name  of  the  rival 
club  and  from  the  time  of  their  first  organization  these  rival 
clubs  were  known  as  ' '  The  Buttercups ' '  and  ' '  The  Daisies. ' ' 

Daisy's  school  life  must  have  tried  the  soul  of  any  save 
Daisy's  unconscious  self.  The  child  was  like  a  butterfly  or  bee 
finding  sweetness  in  every  flower.  She  had  no  suspicion  of  the 
jealousy  of  which  she  was  the  object,  but  believed  that  she  her- 
self was  always  in  some  inexplicable  manner  to  blame. 
Though  she  sometimes  was  wounded  to  the  quick  by  the  poison 
tipped  arrows  aimed  at  her  devoted  head,  this  very  unconscious- 
ness proved  her  surest  shield  from  harm,  for  it  was  simply  im- 
possible to  hold  out  for  any  length  of  time  against  this  sweet  un- 
consciousness. Yet  the  child  had  a  very  hasty  temper,  which 
found  ready  vent  in  saucy  taunts,  and  never  waged  a  war  of 
words,  but  that  Daisy  won  the  battle. 


A  MUSICAL,   MYSTERY  129 

CANTO  THE  SEVENTH. 

"A  WAVE  OP  HER  FAIRY  GOD-MOTHER  WAND." 

It  was  nearly  three  months  after  the  opening  of  the  school 
year  when  Daisy  Zorfange  coming  hastily  into  the  school  room 
found  her  seatmate,  Virginia  Carson,  of  whom  she  had  grown  ex- 
tremely fond,  alone  at  their  desk  and  weeping  bitterly.  Upon  her 
peremptory  demand  for  an  explanation  Virginia  told  her  story. 

The  eldest  daughter  of  a  poor,  hard  working,  country 
Clergyman,  who  had  died  two  years  before,  she  had  become  the 
mainstay  of  the  entire  family.  Her  mother  who  had  long  been 
an  invalid  had  written  to  her  but  now  that  she  must  return  home 
at  Christmas  as  she  could  not  longer  afford  to  keep  her  in  school, 
her  younger  sisters  and  brothers  making  demands  upon  her  that 
could  not  longer  be  ignored. 

Virginia,  who  had  hoped  to  educate  herself  for  the  position 
of  teacher  in  the  city  schools,  and  so,  not  only  to  raise  herself 
above  the  drudgery  of  manual  labor,  but  to  be  able  thereby  to 
earn  a  more  liberal  support  for  her  family,  was  in  despair  at  thus 
having  to  give  up  all  her  hopes  for  the  future.  She  had  hoped, 
she  said,  to  find  some  employment  for  her  unoccupied  hours  that 
would  enable  her  to  pay  her  own  way  at  school,  but  every  effort 
to  secure  this  had  signally  failed,  and  she  sobbed  anew  at  the 
certainty  of  having  to  give  up  her  plans  for  the  future. 

"Never  fear,  my  child,"  cried  Daisy,  gleefully.  "I  will  be 
thy  Fairy  Godmother,  and  smooth  away  all  obstacles.  Thou  shalt 
remain  at  school,  and  degenerate  into  an  old  maid  school  marm, 
if  that  is  the  height  of  thy  ambition.  So  dry  thine  eyes.  Thou 
shalt  yet  oust  Miss  Prentice  if  thou  lik  'st.  Thou  art  much  more 
agreeable,  although  thou  canst  never  hope  to  be  so  handsome  as 
she.  But  all  this  has  been  sprung  upon  me  so  suddenly  and  un- 
expectedly that  I  must  have  a  little  time  to  think  over  the  situa- 
tion. It  as  now  three  days  to  Thanksgiving  Day.  In  three  days 
therefore  I  will  come  again  and  tell  thee  that  which  will  make  thy 
sorrowful  heart  rejoice.  As  a  Fairy  Godmother  I  am  always  an 
immense  success.  So  '  dry  up '  now,  and  if  I  fail  I  will  give  thee 
leave  to  cry  from  Thanksgiving  to  Christmas." 


130  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

Virginia  did  not  give  much  credence  to  the  promises  of 
Daisy,  but  felt  cheered  at  the  prospect  of  dining  out,  for  Daisy 
had  just  invited  her  to  eat  her  Thanksgiving  dinner  at  her  own 
home,  and  was  especially  pleased  at  the  prospect  of  visiting 
Daisy. 

How  it  came  about  no  one  could  tell,  but  it  had  ever  been 
the  habit  of  the  whole  school  to  look  upon  and  treat  Daisy  Zor- 
lange  with  that  patronage  which  is  usually  bestowed,  and  es- 
pecially by  youth,  upon  the  very  poor  in  purse.  The  child's 
simple  dress  and  yet  more  simple  manners  seemed  to  confirm  the 
impression  that  hers  was  a  state  of  the  direst  poverty,  although 
a  shade  of  suspicion  often  rested  upon  Miss  Prentice's  scowling 
brow  as  she  noted  that  the  material  of  the  simple  dresses  seemed 
of  the  finest  texture,  and  more  than  once  she  thought  that  the 
yards  upon  yards  of  lace  used  so  abundantly  upon  them  looked 
as  if  it  might  be  "real."  But  the  child  skillfully  eluded  every 
question  about  herself,  and  their  patronage  was  often  offensively 
intruded  upon  her.  Daisy  seemed  to  enjoy  the  situation  and 
took  every  occasion  to  encourage  it.  When  questioned  she  an- 
swered only  by  a  laugh.  It  was  Daisy's  habit  and  often  an  ir- 
ritating one,  to  laugh  at  all  things. 

"I  will  call  for  thee  myself  at  four,"  said  Daisy,  and 
promptly  at  that  hour  she  knocked  at  the  door  of  the  little  attic 
room  occupied  by  Miss  Virginia  Carson  in  a  squalid  looking 
down  town  boarding  house. 

"I  hope  that  thou  art  not  going  to  wear  that  brown  thing," 
was  her  unceremonious  greeting.  ' 'Why,  thou  art  all  of  a  color 
and  will  set  my  fayther's  teeth  on  edge.  There,  never  mind," 
she  added  as  Virginia,  in  consternation,  confessed  that  it  was  her 
"Sunday  best"  and  that  she  had  no  bright  ribbons  with  which 
to  relieve  the  sombre  effect.  "I  was  only  teasing  thee.  The 
plainer  the  setting  the  more  brightly  the  finest  gems  shine. 
Fayther  will  be  in  raptures  with  the  one  I  present  to  him  as  a 
Thank-offering,  or  I  am  much  mistaken." 

Virginia's  eyes  opened  wide  with  wonder  as  Daisy  uncere- 
moniously bundled  her  into  a  waiting  carriage  and  gave  her  or- 
ders to  the  coachman.  They  alighted  at  a  plain,  unfashionable 
up-town  mansion  and  were  ushered  at  once  into  Mr.  Zorlange's 
study,  where  Daisy,  with  the  liberty  of  the  mistress  of  the  house, 
introduced  her  schoolmate,  without  delay  to  her  "fayther,"  and 
after  removing  Virginia's  wraps,  hastened  away,  leaving  the  two 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  J31 

to  make  aquaintance  as  best  they  might.  Nor  did  she  return  un- 
til dinner  was  announced;  then  her  eyes  shone  with  gratified 
triumph  as  they  fell  upon  the  twain  for  she  knew  that  her  mis- 
sion was  fulfilled  and  that  Virginia's  Fairy  Godmother  had  gam- 
ed her  point. 

The  dinner  was  a  grand  success.  Emil  Zorlange  was  more 
pleased  than  he  had  been  for  many  a  day  with  the  plans  which 
his  daughter  had  made  for  the  future  of  them  all.  For  she  had 
proposed  that  Virginia  become  an  inmate  of  the  house  as  com- 
panion to  herself,  and  so  relieved  of  the  burden  of  providing 
for  herself,  be  enabled  to  complete  her  schooling.  He  was 
charmed  with  Virginia's  staid,  old-fashioned  manners,  which 
somehow  suited  her  plain  and  homely  features,  but  more  than  all 
was  he  delighted  with  the  good  sense  of  his  mad-cap  little  daugh- 
ter, in  choosing  this  uncompromisingly  stiff  blossom  from  all  the 
beauties  of  the  " rosebud  garden  of  girls"  for  her  own  particular 
friend  and  companion. 

If  Daisy  and  her  "fayther"  were  pleased  at  the  turn  that 
events  had  taken,  who  shall  estimate  the  pleasure  of  Virginia 
herself  when  she  was  consulted  as  to  the  arrangements  made  for 
her  future. 

"Thou  art  to  live  here  as  my  elder  sister  and  companion, 
free  of  cost  to  thy  mother  and  to  share  all  educational  privileges 
with  me.  Neither  schooling  nor  board  nor  clothing  will  cost  thee 
anything  whatever.  Thou  wilt  have  the  benefit  of  my  instruc- 
tions in  music,  and  dancing,  and  painting,  and  will  be  present  at 
my  lessons  in  all.  But  should  thou  develop  a  decided  talent  for 
either  or  all,  thou  art  to  have  as  I  have,  the  lessons  first  hand 
from  the  very  best  masters,  that  thou  may'st  in  every  way  be 
fitted  to  fill  the  post  of  the  principal  of  a  school  or  that  of  gov- 
erness in  some  private  family,  of  good  standing,  where,"  added 
Daisy,  "thou  may'st  marry  the  son  and  heir  of  the  house,  with 
the  promised  fatherly  blessing  of  my  fayther;  and  all  this  in  re- 
turn for  taking  an  elderly  sister's  care  of  me,  which,  I  warn  thee, 
is  not  so  easy  an  occupation  as  it  would  appear  to  be  on  the  sur- 
face. Thou  dost  well  to  cry,  my  dear,  the  official  position  offered 
thee  will  prove  no  sinecure,  I  assure  thee." 

Virginia's  happiness  knew  no  bounds.  With  but  a  single 
wave  of  her  wand  her  fairy  godmother  had  smoothed  the  thorny 
path  of  life  for  her  and  made  it  possible  for  her  to  realize  all 
of  her  beautiful  dreams  for  the  future. 


132  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

If  she  had  loved  Daisy  before,  that  love  now  deepened  into 
absolute  idolatry,  and  not  even  the  fact  that  Howard  Gould's 
dark  eyes  held  that  lovelight  which  she  jealousy  coveted  for  her- 
self, when  they  rested  upon  Daisy,  could  dim  or  cloud  that  wor- 
ship of  her  young  and  heedless  benefactress. 

All  of  the  arrangements  were  made  as  far  as  could  be  done 
without  the  sanction  of  Virginia's  mother.  It  had  been  decided 
not  to  tell  that  good  lady  until  Christmas  time  aught  save  that  if 
she  would  permit  her  daughter  to  go  on  with  her  schooling,  she 
would  be  able  to  do  so  without  any  cost  to  herself. 

Daisy  only  stipulated  that  the  secrets  of  fairy  land  be  re- 
spected, upon  pain  of  banishment  therefrom;  and  Virginia  read- 
ily promised  that  never  a  hint  would  she  give  at  school,  of  the 
manner  in  which  their  home  life  was  conducted.  For  none  of 
her  schoolmates  had  as  yet  penetrated  farther  than  the  little  re- 
ception room  which  was  known  among  them  as  Daisy's  par- 
lor. 

Virginia  never  returned  to  the  dingy  boardinghouse  she 
had  left.  Daisy  declaring  that  having  once  been  made  a  guest  of 
fairy  land,  none  were  permitted  to  defile  its  hallowed  precincts 
by  bringing  even  the  dust  of  such  a  place  into  it. 

Then  at  once  commenced  the  grand  preparations  for  what 
Daisy  always  thereafter  termed  "the  Carson's  Christmas/' 
Guided  by  the  confessions  which  she  extorted  from  Virginia, 
Daisy  seemed  to  understand  every  need  of  the  family.  The  en- 
tire family  were  invited  to  the  house  of  a  friend  for  the  fort- 
night preceding  Christmas,  and  the  two  girls  superintended  the 
remodeling  of  the  cottage  during  their  absence.  As  Daisy  put 
it:  "First  we  will  raise  that  mortgage;  then  we  will  raise  a  dust 
and  settle  things  all  around." 

The  house  was  painted,  inside  and  out;  the  windows  were 
remodeled  and  newly  glazed;  the  parlor,  that  sacred  precinct 
of  all  village  cottages,  which  is  seldom  or  never  used,  was  abol- 
ished altogether  here,  and  under  Daisy's  direction  converted  into 
a  bed-chamber  and  sitting  room  for  Mrs.  Carson,  who  was  a  hope- 
less invalid  by  reason  of  acute  rheumatism.  From  this  a  hall  had 
given  entrance  to  the  cottage.  The  front  door  closed,  and  turned 
into  a  window,  made  of  this  hallway  a  snug  little  room  for  Nan- 
nie, to  be  shared  upon  the  occasions  of  her  home  Sittings,  by 
Virginia.  A  grand  entrance  was  made  instead  into  the  large 
central  apartment,  in  which  a  beautiful  parlor  cooking  stove,  the 


A  MUSICAL   MYSTERY  133 

gift  of  Mr.  Zorlange,  was  placed.  The  old-time  kitchen  was  con- 
verted into  a  boys'  snuggery  and  sleeping  room  for  Harry  and 
Robert  Carson;  and  the  dining  room  into  a  guest  chamber,  for 
the  family,  during  the  winter  months,  at  least,  would  take  their 
meals  in  the  large  sitting  and  cooking  room;  and  in  the  summer 
time  upon  the  side,  vine-shaded  porch. 

Daisy  was  in  her  element.  She  was  "born  to  command," 
she  said,  and  she  engineered  things  to  suit  herself,  evry  one 
giving  to  her  willing  obedience,  and  upon  Christmas  Eve  the 
wonder-stricken  family  were  introduced  to  their  fairy  godmother, 
who  had  changed  the  rusty,  inconvenient  little  old  cottage,  into 
what  appeared,  from  the  changes  wrought  by  her  magic  wand,  a 
spacious  mansion,  newly  furnished  with  every  beauty  and  modern 
convenience.  Its  pantries,  closets,  cupboards  and  even  bureaus, 
were  stored  with  Christmas  cheer,  houselinen  and  pretty  clothes 
for  all. 

' '  How  little  it  takes  after  all,  fayther  dear,  to  make  so  many 
people  happy,"  quoth  Daisy,  as  she  placed  the  bills  in  Emil 
Zorlange 's  hands,  who  declared,  as  in  duty  bound,  that  he  him- 
self had  had  twice  the  worth  of  the  amount — as  indeed  he  had 
had  in  the  pride  he  felt  in  this  little  daughter  who  delighted  in 
such  wholesome  pleasures  as  those  of  making  others  happy;  in- 
stead, as  would  have  been  the  case  of  nine  out  of  ten  reared  in 
the  same  manner,  of  selfishly  absorbing  all  the  good  gifts  of  life. 


134  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 


CANTO  THE  EIGHTH. 


It  was  strange  how  that  petty  jealousy  jmrsued  the  care- 
less, fun-loving  child,  whose  only  crime  was  that  of  having,  as 
it  were,  stepped  across  a  whole  year's  study,  thus  entering  high 
school,  far  in  advance  of  her  class,  and  so  had  been  at  the  early 
age  of  twelve  years  transformed  into  a  young  lady,  by  school 
courtesy,  at  least.  Yet  with  all,  Daisy  Zorlange  was  a  prime 
favorite;  with  all  except  her  black-browed  teacher,  Miss  Pren- 
tice; for  she  was  a  veritable  imp  of  mischief,  ringleader  in  every 
escapade  so  dear  to  the  heart  of  every  school  girl,  and  school  boy 
as  well,  generously  taking  the  blame  upon  herself  when  detected. 
Yet  it  was  noticed  that  Miss  Prentice,  herself,  appealed  to  Daisy 
when  she  had  occasion  to  question  the  truth  of  any  matter,  for 
it  was  an  established  fact  that  Daisy  Zorlange  never  attempted 
to  screen  herself  from  blame  behind  even  the  whitest  kind  of  a 
lie.  Daisy's  truth- telling  propensity  became  proverbial. 

The  class  in  ancient  history  recited  in  this  room.  Howard 
Gould  was  reciting  that  portion  relating  to  the  Eegira  of  Ma- 
homet, and  when  asked  to  spell  the  word  declined  to  attempt  it, 
frankly  admitting  his  own  inability  to  do  so.  One  after  another 
signally  failed  in  the  correct  spelling  of  the  word.  Howard  final- 
ly decided  that  Juliet  Delmar  had  the  correct  orthography  of  the 
word  when  she  spelled  it  ' '  H-e-j-i-r-a. "  Daisy,  when  asked, 
spelled  it  "  H-e-g-i-r-a, f '  and  Howard  then  declared  himself  as 
follows:  "Yes,  of  course,  if  she  says  so,"  and  defended  his  posi- 
tion from  the  laugh  that  ensued  by  saying  that  he  had  noticed 
that  Daisy  Zorlange  never  expressed  an  opinion  without  being 
certain  that  she  was  correct,  and  that  he  was  on  that  account 
willing  to  accept  her  as  the  best  authority  upon  the  question 
under  discussion. 

Miss  Prentice  admitted  that  she  herself,  had  observed  this 
also.  And  it  grew  to  be  the  fashion  to  end  any  debate  in  which 
Daisy  took  part  with:  "Yes,  of  course,  if  'she'  says  so." 

On  the  first  day  of  June,  it  was  whispered  about  among  the 
pupils  in  Miss  Prentice's  room,  that  a  beautiful  floral  offering 


A  MUSICAL.  MYSTERY  135 

was  on  its  way  to  the  school-room  to  be  presented  to  the  most 
beautiful  girl  in  the  room,  and  that  this  question  was  to  be  de- 
cided by  ballot.  And  sure  enough,  directly  after  the  noon  re- 
cess, there  appeared  a  large  basket  of  lovely  pearl-white  roses, 
whose  perfume  filled  the  air.  The  voting  commenced  prior  to  the 
regular  school  routine.  Even  Miss  Prentice  herself,  showed  great 
interest  in  the  counting  of  the  ballot.  The  choice  was  apparently 
between  Juliet  Delmar  and  Daisy  Zorlange,  and  Juliet  won. 

' '  Oh, ' '  cried  Daisy,  ' '  please  let  me  present  it.  I  will  make 
such  a  pretty  speech. ' ' 

"You  do  not  seem  to  be  in  the  least  degree  disappointed  in 
the  result,"  said  Miss  Prentice,  curiously. 

"I,"  laughed  Daisy,  "why,  I  cast  my  vote  for  Juliet.  It 
was  awfully  good  of  some  of  the  girls  to  vote  for  me.  but  I  do 
not  think  that  any  of  them  meant  it,  except  to  tease  Juliet,  for  all 
must  know  that  neither  they  nor  I  can  be  compared  to  Juliet,  in 
beauty,  at  least,"  she  added,  archly. 

More  than  one  of  her  schoolmates  hung  their  heads,  re- 
buked by  Daisy's  generosity,  ashamed  that  that  strange  spirit  of 
jealousy  had  led  them  to  deprive  her  of  her  just  dues.  For  in 
their  hearts  they  acknowledged  Daisy's  face  to  be  the  very  pret- 
tiest that  the  sun  ever  shone  upon,  and  the  very  unconsciousness 
of  the  child  gave  an  added  beauty  to  her  fair  face. 

"Wait  just  one  moment,"  said  Virginia  Carson,  staying 
Daisy's  hand,  outstretched  for  the  floral  prize,  "perhaps  the 
donor  may  have  something  to  say  in  this  matter.  Here  is  a 
card  among  the  roses  and  upon  it  is  written:  'To  Marguerite 
Zorlange  from  Grandpa  Brooks. '  ' 

"Why,"  said  Daisy,  "I  thought  they  looked  like  the  'Mar- 
guerite Zorlange'  roses.  But  it  is  odd  that  Grandpa  Brooks 
should  have  sent  them  to  the  school-room  and  not  to  the  house  as 
usual.  There  is  always  some  token  of  remembrance  of  the  day 
from  him  and  from  Grandma  Brooks,  too."  And  diving  down 
into  the  basket  Daisy  fished  up  a  small  casket  of  equisite  work- 
manship, within  which  reposed  a  jewelled  comb  and  a  beautiful 
bracelet  of  coral. 

"I  cannot  give  thee  these,  Juliet.  I  always  keep  sacred  a 
present.  Nor  can  I  give  thee  my  basket  of  roses,  for  fayther 
always  expects  to  see  them  upon  the  dinner  table  upon  this  an- 
niversary of  the  day  when  I  '  stole  flowers. '  But  I  will  give  thee 
two  of  the  prettiest,  and  make  Miss  Prentice  a  present  of  two 


136  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

others,  if  she  will  promise  me  to  wear  them  to  the  Governor's 
reception  tonight. ' '  Then  she  coaxed  of  the  latter  in  a  whisper : 
"Let  me  come  and  dress  thee,  wilt  thou  not?" 

Miss  Prentice  looked  the  graceful  figure  before  her  over 
from  head  to  foot.  Daisy  Zorlange  was  the  best  dressed  girl  in 
the  school.  Her  belongings  always  seemed  as  a  part  of  herself 
and  the  whole  effect  was  exquisite. 

"W-e-U,  I  think  you  may,  for  once,"  she  said,  hesitatingly. 

Juliet  was  not  so  quiescent,  but  deliberately  plucked  to 
pieces  the  roses  which  Daisy  offered  her,  notwithstanding  the 
openly  expressed  protests  of  the  others,  who  cried:  "Oh,  do  not 
destroy  the  roses,  Juliet."  And,  "Give  them  to  me,  Juliet,  if 
you  do  not  want  them,"  and,  "Daisy,  do  not  let  her  pull  those 
beautiful  flowers  to  pieces.  Give  them  to  us  instead. ' ' 

But  Daisy,  looking  sorrowfully  at  her  precious  roses,  re- 
plied :  "  I  gave  them  to  Juliet,  and  she  has  the  right  to  do  as  she 
likes  with  them.  I  presented  them  to  the  prettiest  girl  in  the 
school,"  she  added  teasingly,  "  but  the  ugliest  one  has  torn 
them  to  pieces.  It  requires  smiles  to  make  thee  even  good-look- 
ing, Juliet  Delmar.  Don't  thee  think  so  thyself,  friend?"  and 
ignoring  Miss  Prentice's  sharp  call:  "To  order,  young  la- 
dies," she  snatched  a  hand  mirror  from  Juliet's  desk  and  thrust 
it  before  her  face. 

Juliet  looked  amazed  at  the  dark  and  scowling  countenance 
which  met  her  sullen  gaze,  then  laughed  and  nodded  assent,  as 
Daisy  asked:  "Is  not  that  the  very  ugliest  creature  you  ever 
saw?"  as  her  own  smile  was  reflected  in  the  glass,  Juliet  was 
even  more  startled  at  the  transformation,  and  to  Daisy's  query, 
' '  And  is  this  not  the  very  handsomest  ? ' '  replied :  ' '  No.  For  you 
are  not  only  the  prettiest  girl  in  school,  but  the  best  and  sweetest, 
too."  And  with  the  smile  still  upon  her  lips,  but  a  tear  in  her 
eye,  she  stooped  and  picked  carefully  from  off  the  floor  every 
leaf  of  the  discarded  roses,  placing  them  between  the  leaves  of  a 
favorite  book,  and  signified  by  a  gesture,  her  intention  of  keep- 
ing them  always,  as  a  token  that  she  would  never  forget  the  les- 
son of  this  hour,  tossed  a  kiss  to  Daisy  as  a  peace-offering,  then 
subsided  into  her  usual  calm  as  if  she  had  just  heard  the  oft- 
repeated  command  to  do  so. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  137 

CANTO  THE  NINTH. 
"THE  ENCHANTED  PALACE." 

When  Daisy  arrived  at  the  rooms  of  Miss  Prentice,  that  even- 
ing, for  the  purpose,  as  she  declared,  of  making  her  teacher  the 
best  dressed  and  consequently  the  most  admired  guest  at  the  Gov- 
ernor's ball,  she  found  that  lady  in  a  very  pefulant  mood,  hav- 
ing just  come  from  under  the  hands  of  her  hair-dresser. 

"I  told  him  to  do  it  in  a  Grecian  knot,"  she  explained,  "but 
this  is  rather  too  much  of  a  good  thing." 

"There  are  Grecian  knots,  and  Grecian  'note,'  "  laughed 
Daisy,  as  she  viewed  the  tightly  twisted  coils,  "and  this  must  be 
one  of  the  'nots.'  No,  do  not  undo  it.  Let  me  improve  upon  thy 
handiwork,  and  give  to  it  the  classic  turn, ' '  and,  with  a  few  dex- 
trous turns  of  her  own  deft  fingers  she  shook  and  loosened  the 
heavy  waves,  and  held  the  loosened  knot  in  place  by  rubber 
bands  that  were  invisible,  giving  a  careless,  negligent  effect  to 
the  heavy  mass  of  magnificent  ebony  hair  that  was  most  beautiful. 
And  when  she  had  placed  the  comb  of  glimmering  pearls  among 
the  rich  masses,  so  that  it  seemed  to  form  its  sole  fastening,  the 
disconsolate  hair-dresser  was  thrown  into  raptures,  declaring 
that  the  little  girl  was  nothing  short  of  a  witch,  and  acknow- 
ledging that  he  had  learned  from  her  a  new  and  most  valuable 
lesson  in  his  art. 

"I  really  do  not  know  what  to  wear,"  said  Miss  Prentice. 

' '  I  know  what  thou  wilt  wear, ' '  declared  Daisy,  taking  down 
a  heavy,  cream-colored  satin,  from  its  peg  in  the  wardrobe, 
which  she  had  been  ransacking  without  leave,  then  tossed  over  it 
a  shawl  of  filmy  white  lace. 

Under  her  supervision  and  with  her  help,  Miss  Prentice's 
maid  robed  her  in  these.  Her  mistress  grumbled  loudly  at  the 
total  absence  of  color.  Daisy  heeded  not,  but  tabooed  everything 
that  was  not  white  or  cream  in  the  toilette,  and  forbidding  all 
jewelry  except  the  comb  and  a  rope  of  large  pearls  about  the 
smooth  throat,  fastened  the  drapery  of  snowy  lace  with  the  Mor- 
guerite  Zorlange  roses,  and  producing  a  bouquet  of  the  same,  sur- 
rounding a  sprig  of  scarlet  geranium  subdued  by  a  mass  of  feath- 
ery green,  she  pronounced  the  toilette  complete  and  perfect. 


138  LA  GRAN  QUIBIBA 

Miss  Prentice  was  still  dubious  in  spite  of  her  maid's  rhap- 
sodies, and  her  brow  contracted  in  a  heavy  frown.  She  was  a 
color-worshipper,  and  the  absence  of  all  color  was  displeasing  to 
her.  However,  she  had  promised  to  permit  Daisy  to  dress  her 
as  she  pleased,  and  she  could  not  retract  her  promise  at  this,  the 
eleventh  hour.  She  was  somewhat  reassured  by  the  very  out- 
spoken admiration  of  Tontine,  her  hair-dresser,  who,  having 
begged  leave  to  see  her  when  her  toilette  was  complete,  was  pa- 
tiently waiting  her  appearance  in  the  lower  hall,  and  in  admir- 
ing wonder  greeted  her  with:  "You  will  be  the  belle  of  the  ball- 
room, madame.  That  child  has  transformed  you  into  a  Greek 
goddess. ' ' 

"Let  the  eyes  of  the  other  guests  be  thy  mirror,  tonight," 
said  Daisy,  ' '  and  thou  wilt  be  better  pleased  with  thy  dress  than 
thou  hast  ever  been  before.  I  pronounce  it  a  chef  de  auvre, 
and  I  am  an  authority  in  matters  of  dress.  Thou  art  so  bright 
and  rich  in  color  thyself,  that  thou  canst  not  bear  illuminating, 
but  must  be  toned  down  instead.  But  go  on.  Thou  art  late,  very 
late.  And  I  will  hear  the  rest  of  thy  grumbling  tomorrow.  I 
invite  myself  to  breakfast  with  thee— what  dost  thou  say  to  ten 
o'clock?  It  will  be  Saturday,  and  thou  canst  lie  abed  as  late  as 
thou  lik'st." 

And  promptly  at  ten  next  morning  Daisy  presented  herself, 
at  Miss  Prentice's  bedside,  followed  by  a  maid  with  a  breakfast 
tray  laden  with  coffee  and  rolls  for  two. 

Miss  Prentice  drew  the  young  girl's  face  down  to  her  own 
and  for  the  first  time,  kissed  her. 

"So  the  despised  toilette  was  a  success?"  asked  Daisy, 
laughing. 

"A  most  decided  success.  I  never  had  so  much  admiration 
in  my  life,  and  — ,"  but  here  she  broke  down  and  Daisy  cried  in 
triumph:  "Oh.  It  is  a  love  story.  Tell  me— do  tell  me  all  about 
it." 

"You  are  very  young,"  said  Miss  Prentice,  doubtfully,  "but 
as  it  was  all  due  to  your  exquisite  taste  in  the  selection  of  my 
ball  dress,  I  think  you  have  the  first  right  to  know. ' ' 

"Engaged."  Daisy  clasped  her  hands  and  rolled  her  eyes 
in  ecstacy.  "It  was  the  dress  that  did  it,"  laughed  Miss  Pren- 
tice. ' '  He  confessed  that  he  would  have  spoken  long  ago,  but  that 
my  loud  taste  for  colors  in  dress  daunted  him.  He  is  an  artist, 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  139 

but  says  that  he  prefers  the  cardinal  tints  upon  canvas,  and  not 
in  a  lady's  dress." 

"But  thou  hast  not  told  me  who  is  the  happy  man.  I  know 
all  the  rest.  Thou  wast  doubtful  of  thy  toilette,  and  looked  wist- 
fully into  every  face  for  signs  of  disapproval,  and  instead  thou 
found  thyself  the  most  admired  of  all.  In  short,  by  the  aid  of  thy 
perfect  toilette,  thou  hast  achieved  a  grand  social  triumph." 

"Now  you  have  guessed  it,"  was  the  reply.  "I  never  had 
so  many  compliments  in  so  short  a  space  of  time  before,  nor  un- 
derstood what  was  meant  by  the  term  being  '  well  dressed. '  My 
fiance  is  Paul  Selwyn,  the  artist.  We  will  be  married  soon  and  he 
has  stipulated  that  I  shall  not  have  an  article  in  my  trousseau 
which  has  not  been  inspected  and  approved  either  by  himself 
or  Daisy  Zorlange,  whose  taste  in  dress  he  declares  to  be  beyond 
question,  'perfect!'  And  I  am  too  happy  to  disobey,"  she  added 
laughingly. 

"I  congratulate  thee,"  and  Daisy  stooped  over  and  kissed 
her. 

"I  know  Paul  Selwyn  quite  well.  He  gives  me  lessons  in 
painting. ' ' 

Miss  Prentice  looked  amazed.  "Why,  Paul  Selwyn  is  a 
wealthy  man,  surely  he  has  no  need  to  teach. ' ' 

"He  is  a  friend  of  fayther's,  and  at  his  request,  teaches  me." 

"Oh,"  said  Miss  Prentice,  doubtfully,  "you  are  being  fitted 
for  a  teacher,  perhaps.  And  your  father  goes  to  the  extravagance 
of  procuring  the  best  instruction  for  you. ' ' 

' '  Perhaps, ' '  echoed  Daisy,  with  an  amused  smile.  Then  she 
said:  "Thou  must  come  and  spend  the  day  with  us  tomorrow. 
Thou  and  he.  Fayther  will  be  delighted  to  meet  the  fiancee  of 
Paul  Selwyn,  and  will  send  him  word." 

"I  suppose,"  said  Miss  Prentice,  that  evening,  to  Paul  Sel- 
wyn, "that  it  will  not  be  in  good  taste  to  wear  anything  but  my 
shabbiest  gown  to  poor  Daisy's  dinner?" 

"Why?"  he  asked,  in  amazement. 

"Oh,"  she  answered,  "the  little  darling  belongs  to  the  'poor 
and  proud'  class,  and  they  are  so  very  easily  offended,  you 
know. ' ' 

The  artist  threw  back  his  head  and  laughed,  but  only  said: 
"Please  me  by  wearing  your  best  gown  tomorrow,  your  hand- 
somest dinner  dress  and  your  most  precious  gems,"  then  added, 
quizzingly,  "I  want  my  friends  to  see  what  a  'stunner'  I  have 


140  LA   GRAN    QUmiRA 

won."      Then  he  laughed  again  as  she  acquiesced,  saying:  "If 
you  are  certain  that  it  will  not  offend. ' ' 

'What  Miss  Prentice  found  at  the  Zorlange's  no  one  knew, 
but  it  was  observed  upon  Monday  and  for  many  days  thereafter, 
that  she  cast  many  a  side  glance  of  seeming  wonder  and  amaze- 
ment at  Daisy's  demure  little  figure,  and  raised  her  eyebrows 
significantly  when  her  glance  met  that  of  the  prim  and  circum- 
spect Virginia  Carson,  who  to  the  disgust  of  the  remainder  of  the 
girls,  was  as  close  as  an  oyster  concerning  what  went  on  at  her 
new  home. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  141 

CANTO  THE  TENTH. 

"TRmBOLITZ." 

Two  years  had  passed  since  Daisy  Zorlange  had  entered  the 
high  school  with  such  dubious  eclat.  All  the  trials  and  tribula- 
tions incidental  to  school  life  had  been  passed  through  by  her 
as  successfully  as  childhood's  ills.  Daisy  and  her  class  had  been 
promoted  to  Miss  Torrendycke 's  room.  The  trials  which  Daisy 
had  been  called  upon  to  endure  before  she  had  made  her  peace 
with  Miss  Prentice  were  as  naught  compared  with  what  she  was 
compelled  to  submit  to  at  the  hands  of  her  new  teacher,  who 
hated  her  and  took  no  pains  to  conceal  the  fact.  "Trilobitz," 
Daisy  called  her,  to  her  face,  to  the  infinite  amusement  of  the 
school  girls,  with  so  perfect  an  intonation  that  the  maligned 
spinster  could  not  be  certain  that  it  was  not  the  orthodox  ' '  Tor- 
rendycke." 

It  was  Miss  Torrendycke 's  pleasing  habit  to  assert  her  own 
authority  by  making  her  pupils  do  those  particular  things  that 
were  most  distasteful  to  them.  Two  pupils  shared  the  same  seat, 
and  desk.  Daisy  Zorlange  wished  to  sit  with  either  Virginia 
Carson,  or  Ella  Howell,  one  of  her  particular  cronies.  But  no; 
seated  in  the  customary  alphabetical  order  as  Miss  Torrendycke 
had  said  would  be  the  case,  Ella  and  Daisy  must  have  come 
together;  but  Miss  Torrendycke  said  that  Miss  Zorlange  must 
occupy  one  of  the  front  row  of  seats,  so  that  she  would  directly 
under  her  own  eye. 

Daisy  smiled.  For  long  practice  and  experience  had  taught 
her  that  there  was  more  real  fun  to  be  had  out  of  mischief  prac- 
ticed directly  under  Miss  Torrendycke 's  own  eye — and  nose  as 
well — than  in  any  obscure  corner  of  the  school-room,  and  she 
was  congratulating  herself  upon  this,  when,  to  her  dismay,  Miss 
Torrendycke  appointed  Lotta  Moore  to  a  seat  at  the  same  desk. 

Now  Lotta  Moore  was  one  of  the  few  girls  in  the  school  with 
•whom  it  was  impossible  for  Daisy  to  get  along.  To  keep  in  favor 
with  Miss  Torrendycke,  Lotta  spied  upon  and  betrayed  her  com- 
panions, upon  every  occasion. 


142  LA   GRAN    QUIB1RA 

Daisy,  whose  mischief  was  always  open  and  above  board, 
hated  treachery  of  any  description,  and  grumbled  openly;  but 
hoped  that  Lotta  would  herself  object  to  the  arrangement,  as 
the  dislike,  she  knew,  was  mutual.  Not  so.  Miss  Moore  declared 
herself  pleased  with  any  arrangement  that  her  dear  teacher  chose 
to  make.  There  was  only  one  thing  for  it.  Daisy  determined  to 
rid  herself  of  her  obnoxious  seatmate,  and  set  to  work  to  make 
the  place  too  hot  to  hold  her.  Trick  after  trick  she  played  upon 
her,  but  Lotta  bravely  stood  her  ground,  revenging  herself  by 
betraying  all  of  Daisy's  escapades  to  Miss  Torrendycke,  for  that 
incarnation  of  mischief  had  been  right  in  her  calculations  when 
she  counted  her  chances  of  detection  to  be  less,  the  closer  she  was 
under  the  eye  of  her  teacher ;  and  her  daring  was  the  admiration 
and  envy  of  the  other  scholars  in  the  room. 

Mrs.  Governor  St.  Aubyn  and  her  two  youngest  daughters 
deigned  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  school  one  afternoon.  Daisy  Zor- 
lange  had  been  indefatigable  in  her  efforts  to  make  that  seat  so 
uncomfortable  that  Lotta  Moore  would  ask  to  have  another.  This 
particular  day  her  pranks  had  been  continuous,  and  the  rest  of 
the  girls  were  watching  the  result  with  unfeigned  interest,  for 
many  a  wager  had  been  laid  among  them  as  to  how  long  the 
"goody-good"  Lotta  would  hold  out.  Three  times  upon  this 
selfsame  day  had  she  slyly  (no  one  could  truthfully  say  that  they 
had  seen  Daisy  commit  an  error  of  deportment)  piled  up  the 
books  in  Lotta 's  compartment  of  their  desk  in  such  a  manner  that 
a  noisy  downfall  of  books  and  slates  would  be  the  inevitable  re- 
sult of  the  slightest  touch  of  their  owner.  Thrice  had  the  falling 
books  scattered  innumerable  bits  of  torn  paper  all  about.  Thrice 
had  Miss  Moore  been  sharply  reprimanded  for  her  carelessness, 
and  made  to  pick  up  each  separate  bit  of  the  torn  papers,  and  the 
girl  was  simply  furious.  Behind  her  open  book  she  made 
most  hideous  grimaces  at  her  tormentor. 

Daisy  watched  her  opportunity,  and  when  she  had,  without 
seeming  to  do  so,  drawn  the  attention  of  visitors,  teachers  and 
scholars  by  staring  with  wide-open,  startled,  eyes  set  upon  Lotta, 
she,  in  the  very  midst  of  one  of  Lotta 's  grimaces,  (and  they 
were  most  hideous,  for  the  girl  was  extremely  ugly,  as  I  think 
most  'goody-good'  people  are)  reached  across  the  aisle,  Miss 
Torrendycke  having  bidden  them  both  to  take  the  post  of  digrace 
upon  the  front  seats  used  for  recitation,  and  snatching  the  book 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTEEY  143 

from  before  her  face,  disclosed  it  to  the  view  of  all,  in  all  its 
hideousness. 

Poor  Lotta.  The  laughter  that  greeted  this  display,  fol- 
lowed by  hisses,  was  too  much  for  her.  And  when  Miss  Torren- 
dycke  asked  the  pardon  of  the  sweetly-innocent  Miss  Zorlange 
for  having  reproved  he.r  for  the  fault  of  another,  she  capitulated 
an!  begged  most  earnestly  that  she  be  permitted  to  change  her 
seat. 

"If  you  both  wish,"  acquiesced  Miss  Torrendycke. 

Daisy  declared  herself  charmed  with  Miss  Moore's  company, 
but  added  as  a  double  intendre:  "If  Lotta  is  not  satisfied — 


144  LA   GRAN    QUffilRA 


CANTO  THE  ELEVENTH. 


It  was  the  habit  of  Daisy's  teachers  to  permit  Miss  Zorlange 
to  leave  the  schoolroom  once  or  twice  each  day,  for  a  run  around 
the  square  on  which  the  school  building  was  situated.  So  when 
Daisy  felt  one  of  the  nervous  headaches  to  which  she  was  sub- 
ject, coming  on,  she  rose  and  quietly  left  the  schoolroom  without 
the  ceremony  of  each  time  asking  permission.  She  never  abused 
this  privilege.  Her  pallor  testified  to  her  need  of  fresh  air,  and 
a  few  minutes'  walk  would  restore  her  to  herself.  From  one  of 
these  hurried  walks  she  sprang  into  the  schoolroom  with  a 
bound,  slamming  the  door  behind  her  in  her  haste,  with  flying 
curls  and  dancing  eyes  and  feet.  But  upon  Miss  Torrendycke  's 
"Why,  Miss  Zorlange,"  she  raised  an  admonitory  finger  and 
stayed  her  dancing  feet,  cast  a  last  reproving  glance  upon  them. 
then  straightened  herself  stiffly  and  stood  with  folded  arms,  and 
solemn  countenance,  facing  her  accusatory  judge,  as  it  were, 
for  Daisy  knew  what  to  expect. 

"Miss  Zorlange,"  said  Miss  Torrendycke,  "are  you  aware 
that  such  unseemly  haste  in  entering  a  room  is  very  unladylike 
indeed." 

"Yes'm.  Yes  Miss  '  Trilobitz  ',  "  replied  that  young  lady, 
shaking  her  head  and  upraised  finger  at  her  rebellious  little  feet, 
as  if  they  alone  were  to  blame  in  the  matter,  "Yes'm.  But  thou 
seest  that  I  could  not  help  it.  It  was  all  the  fault  of  the  'New 
Boy'."  Daisy  was  delighted  to  have  aroused  the  spinster's  cur- 
iosity. From  the  very  outset,  she  had  in  defiance  of  Miss  Tor- 
rendycke 's  will,  exerted  a  strong  magnetic  influence  over  her,  and 
nothing  pleased  the  mischeivous  elf  so  much  as  an  opportunity  to 
lead  her  on  to  some  ridiculous  conclusion. 

"This  is  how  it  was,  mum.  I  was  coming  along  the  upper 
landing,  keeping  the  'Rules  and  Regulations'  in  my  mind  (this 
statement  caused  the  whole  school  to  snicker)  "when,"  continued 
Daisy,  sublimely  unconscious,  as  it  would  seem,  of  the  sensation 
which  her  unblushing  effrontery  had  created,  "when  I  heard  some 
one  coming  up  the  stairway.  I  looked  over  the  balustrade  and 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  145 

thought  that  it  was  Howard  Gould, ' '  casting  a  look  of  reproach 
at  that  young  man,  who  was  one  of  the  class  upon  whose  recita- 
tion she  had  broken  in,  "and  then,"  (this  sorrowfully,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  sniggerers),  "I  quite  forgot  the  'Rules'  and  drop- 
ped a  pebble  on  his  head.  He  looked  up,  and  it  was  not  Howard 
at  all,  but  a  'New  Boy' — a  brand  new  boy,"  she  repeated,  with 
emphasis.  _^Vell,  the  'New  Boy'  started  up  the  stairs  in  pur- 
suit of  me,  jfer  I  ran  away,  terribly  frightened,  and  we  had  a 
lively  race,  I  can  tell  thee,  'up  stairs,  and  down  stairs  and  in  my 
lady's  chamber.'  I  ran  finally  to  Mr.  Kingsley's  room  for  his 
protection.  Mr.  Kingsley  always  does  protect  me,  you  know," 
she  added,  maliciously.  "Well,  Mr.  Kingsley's  door  was  locked, 
so  the  new  boy  caught  me,  and  then  he  introduced  himself  to  me 
by  name,  and  told  me  all  about  himself,  and  then  he  asked  me 
my  name,  and, ' '  said  Daisy  with  the  most  exaggerated  air  of  con- 
scious rectitude,  "right  then  I  remembered  that  it  was  against 
the  rules  to.  talk  in  the  halls,  and  I  ran  away  again,  just  as  fast 
as  I  could  and  the  new  boy  after  me.  Now,  I  should  not 
wonder  if  he  were  there  yet. ' '  And  with  a  swift,  backward  move- 
ment she  flung  open  the  door,  and  there,  indeed,  stood  a  crest- 
fallen youth  who  beat  a  hasty  retreat,  upon  his  exposure,  amid 
the  jeers  and  laughter  of  the  scholars. 

' '  This  must  have  been  Mr.  Kenyon,  who  comes  late,  but  there 
have  been  several  additions  to  the  school  during  your  week's 
absence,  Miss  Zorlange.  The  term  'New  Boy'  is  most  objection- 
able." 

"Yes,"  said  Daisy,  "he  said  that  his  name  was  George  Ken- 
yon.  But  if  I  were  he  I  would  rather  be  a  'New  Boy'  than  a — an 
— '  Addition. '  Would  not  thou  ? " 

This  question  was  not  put  in  words,  but  by  the  uplifting  of 
her  eyebrows,  and  a  queer  little  pucker  of  her  lips,  and  was  ad- 
dressed to  Willis  St.  Aubyn,  whom  she  had  just  espied  in  the 
class  and  who  was  also  a  newcomer  in  the  school. 

Willis  assented  with  a  bow  and  smile,  his  eyes  resting  in  un- 
feigned admiration  upon  Daisy's  bewitching  face. 

This  pantomine  was  interrupted  by  Miss  Torrendycke,  who 
was  becoming  suddenly  conscious  that  she  had  been  betrayed  for 
the  twentieth  time  into  committing  an  indiscretion  by  the  fun- 
loving  Daisy.  She  said  sharply:  "Miss  Zorlange,  you  will  stop 
in  the  superintendent's  room  as  you  leave  school  this  afternoon, 
and  report  to  him  that  you  have  once  again  broken  the  rules. ' ' 


146  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

"Yes'm,"  said  Daisy  meekly.  "Yes,  Miss  Trilobitz,"  adding 
under  her  breath,  "and  my  little  romance  counts  for  naught." 

"And  for  insubordination,'  (she  had  caught  the  sound  but 
not  the  sense  of  the  aside)  "you  will  take  your  stand  upon  the 
platform  here." 

"Oh,  Miss  Torrendycke, "  protested  Daisy,  "Oh,  Miss  Tor- 
rendycke, ' '  but  to  no  purpose,  then  made  her  way  slowly  to  the 
appointed  place. 

Poor  Daisy!  She  was  paying  dearly  for  her  fun.  In  five 
minutes  she  looked  ready  to  drop  from  weariness.  She  could 
run  or  walk  or  dance  all  day,  but  to  stand  in  one  position  tried 
her  beyond  her  strength. 

Willis  St.  Aubyn,  noting  the  girl's  weariness,  deliberately 
rose  and  placed  for  her  a  chair.  ' '  The  young  lady  appears  ready 
to  faint, ' '  he  explained,  and  Miss  Torrendycke,  noticing  her  pal- 
lor, was  for  once  ashamed  of  her  own  harshness,  and  said:  "Go 
to  your  seat,  Miss  Zorlange.  I  quite  forgot  your  recent  illness 
and  did  not  mean  to  tax  you  beyond  your  strength. ' ' 

"I  have  always  said  that  I  would  never  fall  in  love  until  I 
was  past  twenty-one, ' '  said  "Willis,  when  they  left  the  room,  quite 
ignoring  the  fact  that  it  was  against  the  rules  of  the  school  tc 
talk  in  the  halls,  "and  now  here  I  have  'been  and  gone  and  done 
it.'  I  am  over  head  and  ears  in  love  with  that  dazzling  bit  of 
sunshine  you  call,  'Daisy  Zorlange.'  ' 

"Willis  St.  Aubyn,"  was  Howard  Gould's  reply.  "I  love 
you  better  than  any  friend  that  I  have  ever  had.  But  I  warn  you 
not  to  trifle  in  any  manner  with  Daisy  Zorlange.  I  love  her  too, 
and  that  better  than  life  or  friends.  But  I  would  not  even  for 
the  sake  of  possessing  her  love  in  return,  awaken  her  suddenly 
from  her  childish  ignorance  and  innocence.  Until  the  time 
comes  for  her  to  awaken  of  her  own  accord,  I  am  content  to  act 
the  part  of  an  elder  brother,  and  I  warn  you  that  you  shall  feel 
that  brother's  vengeance,  should  you  wrong  her  in  any  way." 

Willis  was  indignant,  but  laughed  lightly.  "Good  elder 
brother,"  he  said,  "I  have  no  intentions  regarding  your  sister 
which  are  not,  in  the  highest  degree,  honorable.  I  mean  to  have 
your  bewitching  sister  for  my  wife,  and  that  as  soon  as  I  can  win 
her  consent,  and  win  it  I  will,"  he  added,  confidently,  "in  de- 
fiance of  all  opposition,  even  her  own. ' '  Then  he  said,  more  ser- 
iously: "Of  course,  we  are  all  of  us  but  children  yet,  and  mar- 
riage is  quite  out  of  the  question.  And  you  are  right,  Howard, 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  14? 

she  is  much  too  charming  as  a  child,  to  be  transformed  into  a 
young  lady,  yet.  But  be  generous,  my  friend.  Let  ours  be  a 
friendly  rivalry.  It  is  agreed,  is  it  not,  that  each  shall  wop  this 
fair  maid  after  his  own  fashion,  not  in  any  manner  prejudicing 
the  interest  of  the  other?" 

Howard  looked  searchingly  into  the  frank,  blue  eyes  of  his 
friend,  then  with  a  sigh  and  a  deepening  pallor  upon  his  pale 
face,  and  a  fear  at  his  heart  that  Willis  would  indeed  win  her 
from  him,  he  took  the  outstretched  hand  and  kissed  the  proffered 
lips  of  his  boy  friend,  and  so  was  sealed  the  compact  which  made 
them  amicable  rivals  for  the  love  of  Daisy  Zorlange. 

Later  in  the  day,  the  boys,  crowding  about  Daisy  and  Juliet 
Delmar  in  consultation  about  a  public  game  to  try  the  skill  of 
the  rival  ball  clubs,  "The  Daisies"  and  "The  Buttercups,"  Wil- 
lis said  laughingly,  "Miss  Daisy,  let  me  present  to  your  ac- 
quaintance another  new  boy,  who  is  the  happy  possessor  of  a 
very  romantic  name.  Miss  Zorlange,  Mr.  Orville  Roumaine." 

' '  Awful  Remains  1 ' '  quoth  Daisy,  with  her  mischievous  habit 
of  making  sport  of  every  person  and  everything;  "Mr.  Awful 
Remains,  I  am  pleased,  yet  terrified,  to  make  thy  frightful  ac- 
quaintance ; "  and  with  her  unerring  instinct  in  character-read- 
ing, Daisy  thought  to  herself :  ' '  That  boy  has  the  most  beautiful, 
yet  the  most  evil  countenance,  that  there  is  in  all  the  world,  I  do 
believe. ' ' 

The  darkly  handsome  face  of  Orville  Roumaine  glowed  with 
anger  for  a  moment,  but  he  forgave  the  mischief-loving  girl. 

Orville  Roumaine  had  a  Aveakness  for  pretty  girls  and  Daisy 
Zorlange  was  too  beautiful  to  be  blamed  and  not  courted.  Yet 
this  absurd  soubriquet  clung  to  him  until,  upon  the  same  author- 
ity, it  was  changed  to  "The  Traveler,"  because  of  his  fondness 
for  "romancing,"  as  Daisy  put  it,  about  his  experiences  in  the 
many  countries  and  places  he  had  been. 

Orville  Roumaine  was  the  son  of  the  English  general  of  that 
name,  who  had  lost  his  health  in  India,  in  which  country  the 
boy  was  born.  After  the  death  of  his  wife  the  General  sold  his 
commission  and  taking  the  boy  with  him  had  traveled  in  every 
country  and  every  land.  He  had  lately  come  to  America  and  by 
some  chance  or  perhaps  mischance,  Orville  Junior  had  drifted 
into  the  high  school  at  the  capital  of  this  thriving  State,  and  into 
the  lives  of  those  whom  he  would  one  day  harm,  as  was  the  will 
of  Daisy's  Evil  Genius.  At  least  this  was  what  she  thought,  for 


148  LA  GRAN  QUIBIEA 

Daisy  had  been  told  the  fantastic  vision  which  had  come  to  her 
fair  young  mother  at  her  own  birth,  and  she  said:  "Surely  this 
is  the  male  child  over  whose  birth,  upon  the  opposite  side  of  the 
globe,  Saturn  was  called  upon  to  preside  in  person,  leaving  his 
'sub'  to  appear  at  the  scene  of  my  own  birth.  Well,  Mr.  'Aw- 
ful Remains, '  forewarned  is  forearmed,  and  I  will  have  as  little 
to  do  with  thee  as  possible." 

This  is,  of  course,  but  a  digression,  for  after  the  laugh  raised 
by  Daisy 's  play  upon  the  name  of  the  other  ' '  New  Boy ' '  had  sub- 
sided, Willis  St.  Aubyn  continued:  "Mr.  Roumaine  has  been 
chosen  the  new  leader  of  '  The  Buttercups, '  and  just  in  time  for 
the  Carnival,  too." 

It  was  the  custom  of  the  school  to  make  the  experiments  of 
the  class  in  chemistry  public,  at  least  so  far  as  admitting  the 
whole  school,  if  they  wished  to  attend  them.  Daisy  Zorlange  al- 
ways attended  these  more  for  some  place  to  go,  as  she  frankly 
confessed,  than  for  any  benefit  she  hoped  to  derive  from  the  ex- 
hibition, for  those  beautiful  starry  eyes  of  hers  were  what  is 
termed  "near"  of  sight.  Nothing,  however,  would  induce  her  to 
touch  the  electric  dynamo,  to  receive  that  electric  shock  which 
threw  the  others  into  spasms  of  painful  delight,  as  she  dubbed 
it. 

Upon  the  particular  day  of  which  I  write,  notwithstanding 
her  open  protests,  Mr.  Twirl,  the  principal  of  the  school,  under 
whose  supervision  all  chemical  experiments  were  made,  gave  a 
sign  to  Orville  Roumaine,  and  he  drew  the  refractory  Daisy  sud- 
denly into  the  magic  ring. 

Mr.  Twirl  threw  on  a  double  force  of  electricity.  All  the 
members  of  the  circle  writhed  and  shrieked,  and  laughed,  with 
the  one  exception  of  Daisy  Zorlange,  whose  falling  body  broke  the 
magic  ring  as  it  dropped  apparently  lifeless  upon  the  floor,  to 
the  consternation  of  teacher  and  pupils  alike. 

The  boys,  whose  idol  Daisy  was,  sprang  forward  and  raised 
her  prostrate  form,  then  turned  angrily  upon  the  delinquent 
Twirl,  and  Willis  St.  Aubyn  demanded  without  that  show  of  re- 
spect he  was  accustomed  to  yield  to  the  principal  of  the  school : 
"How  dare  you  sir,  to  inflict  this  upon  any  one  against  their 
will?" 

In  answer  to  this  protest,  Mr.  Twirl  declared  that  he  believed 
it  to  have  been  but  a  pretense  upon  the  part  of  the  young  lady, 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  149 

that  she  could  not  bear  the  application  of  the  electric  force  thus 
applied. 

"And  you  chose  to  murder  her,  rather  than  give  up  your 
own  point." 

It  would  seem  that  this  indignant  accusation  of  the  lad  was 
just,  for  they  worked  in  vain  to  restore  Daisy  to  consciousness; 
and  midst  sorrowing  faces — for  in  spite  of  their  jealousy  and 
their  propensity  to  domineer  over  her,  Daisy  was  the  prime 
favorite  of  all  her  schoolmates — Willis  St.  Aubyn  and  Howard 
Gould  bore  her  unconscious  form  to  a  carriage,  and  took  poor 
Daisy's  seemingly  lifeless  form  home  to  her  father's  house. 

It  was  many  hours  before  she  could  be  restored  to  conscious- 
ness. She  experienced  no  serious  injury  from  this  electric 
shock,  but  instead  reaped  the  benefit  of  always  having  her  own 
sweet  will  afterwards  at  school,  and  reawakened  the  jealousy  of 
her  schoolmates  when  it  was  remarked  that  when  Daisy  Zorlange 
planted  her  little  foot  firmly  upon  the  floor  and  said:  "  I  will 
not,"  she  was  permitted  to  "not"  without  question. 


150  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

CANTO  THE  TWELFTH. 
"THE  SONG  OF  THE  WELD  BIRD." 

The  Commencement  exercises  of  the  high  school  were  largely 
attended.  The  public  schools  of  C — .  were  at  this  time  so  good 
and  thorough  in  their  instructions— their  superintendent,  Mr. 
Kingsley,  having  the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  most  pol- 
ished literateurs  of  the  State,  that  the  schools  under  his  control 
were  patronized  by  all  of  the  first  and  wealthiest  families  of  the 
place. 

The  exercises  for  that  year  were  held  in  one  of  the  most 
spacious  churches  of  the  city,  the  accomodations  of  the  school 
building  not  being  sufficient,  and  the  new  high  school  building, 
with  its  grand  chapel  and  hall,  not  yet  being  completed. 

Gertrude  Grey,  the  valedictorian,  grumbled  audibly  when 
she  found  that  one  of  the  features  of  the  evening's  exercises  was 
to  be  a  quartette  rendered  by  Willis,  Howard,  Virginia  and 
Daisy. 

"If  Daisy  Zorlange  is  to  sing,"  she  said,  "the  whole  evening 
will  be  spoiled  for  anything  else.  Who  will  listen  to  the  speeches 
and  essays  after  that  ? ' ' 

Daisy's  hot  temper  had  been  already  aroused.  The  dresses 
of  the  girl  graduates  were,  of  course,  to  be  of  the  customary 
white,  and  to  make  things  more  effective,  Miss  Torrendycke  had 
requested  that  none  of  the  other  members  of  the  school  should 
wear  white,  but  dress  themselves  in  as  bright  colors  as  possible. 
Daisy  had  provided  for  her  own  wear  a  lovely  rose-colored  tissue ; 
but  at  the  eleventh  hour  Lotta  Moore  had  told  her  that  she  had 
mistaken  the  request,  which  was,  that  all,  without  exception, 
should  wear  white,  unrelieved  by  any  color.  Daisy,  with  a  sigh,  re- 
nounced her  new  gown  and  donned  her  white,  but  with  her  usual 
desire  to  be  found  fault  with  for  a  cause,  she  relieved  the  mon- 
otony of  the  effect  by  wearing  a  shoulder  sash  of  blue  ribbon. 
This  she  caught  up  on  the  shoulder  and  again  at  the  waist,  by  a 
full-blown,  crimson  rose.  In  this  toilette  she  made  a  very  pretty 
picture  of  girlishness  loveliness,  but  brought  down  the  wrath, 
as  Lotta  had  anticipated,  of  Miss  Torrendycke,  upon  her  de- 


A  MUSICAL   MYSTEEY  151 

voted  head.  This  was  during  the  first  intermission,  and  Daisy 
explained  the  situation,  adding  wrathfully  that  Lotta  Moore's 
chief  aim  in  life  seemed  to  be  to  make  mischief  between  her  and 
someone  else.  Her  bright  face  and  the  ribbons  and  roses,  and  her 
gleaming  pearly  neck  and  arms,  so  relieved  the  monotony  of  her 
dress  that  Miss  Torrendycke  quite  overlooked  her  act  of  diso- 
bedience. But  she  went  on  finding  fault  until  the  girl  felt  in- 
clined to  all  manner  of  acts  of  insubordination. 

Daisy  was  seated  next  to  Lotta  Moore,  and  directly  behind 
them  were  the  seats  of  her  two  boy  lovers,  'Willis  and  Howard. 
No  hint  of  love  had  been  given  to  Daisy  by  either,  but  they 
watched  over  her  as  devoted  brothers  might,  and  were  fearful 
of  awakening  her  from  childhood's  dream.  Daisy  loved  them 
with  all  her  heart,  but  no  suspicion  of  the  truth  of  their  re- 
gard for  her,  ever  crossed  her  mind.  Now,  each,  in  turn,  en- 
gaged her  attention,  while  Miss  Torrendycke  questioned  the 
other. 

The  quartette  was  called,  and  the  four  singers  were  greeted 
not  only  with  applause,  but  with  rather  broad  smiles.  The  piece 
selected  was  a  very  difficult  one,  and  especially  the  soprano  was 
full  of  run,  and  trills,  and  quavers. 

""What  are  they  all  grinning  at,"  demanded  Daisy,  sotto 
voce,  as  she  lagged  behind  the  rest,  unwilling  to  take  part  in 
this  public  exhibition. 

"They  think  that  you  cannot  sing  the  part,"  said  Willis,  "I 
heard  some  of  them  laughing  at  the  idea  that  a  little  girl  could 
sing  the  prima  donna  part. ' ' 

This  had  the  desired  effect  of  putting  Daisy  upon  her  mettle. 

"Oh!!"  she  ejaculated,  and  at  once  gave  her  customary 
preliminary  twitter,  and  plunged  into  the  song. 

Glances  of  wonder  were  exchanged  all  over  the  house,  and 
then  a  dead  silence  reigned.  The  audience  seemed  turned  to 
stone.  Daisy,  losing  sight  of  everything  but  the  music,  forgot 
her  own  shyness,  and  with  her  head  poised  upon  one  side  she 
listened  as  does  a  bird,  charmed  with  its  own  sweet  notes. 

It  was  a  trick  of  Daisy's  three  worshippers,  to  subside  into 
a  voice  accompaniment  to  Daisy's  songs. 

The  young  voice  rose  higher  and  higher,  until  it  seemed 
to  reach  the  heavens,  and  to  descend  from  thence,  and  'lie  first 
verse  ended  in  a  perfect  cascade  of  rippling  trills,  which  were 


152  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

all  Daisy's  own.  Only  a  few  softly  candenced  notes  were  struck 
by  the  orchestra,  whose  leader  had  risen  and  was  gazing  at  the 
child  with  adoring  wonder.  But  during  that  time,  the  entire 
audience,  arose  en  masse,  as  silently  as  if  moved  by  one  impulse. 
Daisy  saw  not  and  heeded  not,  and  the  whole  mass  of  people 
stood  motionless  and  silent  while  she  literally  flooded  the  room 
with  song. 

The  song  ended.  The  silence  which  followed  was  first 
broken  by  Daisy,  who  said  aggressively :  "So  thou  thoughtst  we 
kids  could  not  sing  the  number,  eh!"  And  she  would  have 
shaken  her  little  fist  at  the  assembled  multitude,  but  that  Willis, 
whose  eyes  were  ever  upon  her,  caught,  and  smiling,  held  it  fast. 

The  silence  once  broken,  such  a  thunder  of  applause  arose 
that  Daisy,  who  had  started  to  her  seat,  was  very  much  fright- 
ened, and  it  was  with  great  difficulty  that  she  could  be  induced 
to  sing  another  song.  Finally  she  gave  an  arch  and  successful 
rendering  of  the  "auld  Scotch  ballad,"  "  'Twas  within 
a  mile  o'  Edinboro'  Town." 

As  Daisy  finished,  the  leader  of  the  orchestra  came  forward 
and  kissed  the  hem  of  her  gown,  saying,  with  reverent  air :  ' '  It 
is  the  divine  spirit  of  music  herself,  of  whom  I  have  dreamed, 
but  for  whom  I  long  have  sought  in  vain." 

Then  they  crowded  about  the  child,  and  kissed,  and  car- 
ressed,  and  complimented  her,  without  stint. 

"Your  singing  is  like  that  of  the  wild  birds,"  exclaimed  a 
noted  musician.  "Like  them,  you  have  only  Nature's  training. 
With  cultivation,  your  voice  would  become  the  wonder  of  the 
age. ' ' 

But  Daisy  declined  to  ' '  cultivate, ' '  saying,  that  when  people 
got  tired  of  the  " caged-birds '  songs,"  she  would  give  them  the 
wild  birds'  song,  and  make  them  feel  that  they  breathed  the 
fresh  woodland  air,  laden  with  the  perfume  of  the  wild  flowers 
and  of  the  new-mown  hay. 

' '  Perhaps  you  are  right,  my  dear.  Still  you  should  have  the 
advantage  of  a  really  good  teacher,  and  I  will  myself  overlook 
your  voice  culture  if  you  will  permit  me  to  do  so." 

Daisy  thanked  him,  but  said :  ' '  Signer  Yorkestan  is  my  in- 
structor. He  thinks  with  my  fayther,  that  my  voice  should 
have  all  its  natural  beauties  preserved  and  that  it  must  not  be 
forced  in  any  manner  while  I  am  so  young.  So  he  forbids  me  to 
sing  except  when  I  feel  so  inclined." 


A  MUSICAL   MYSTERY  153 

There  were  stares  of  amazement,  for  Signer  Yorkestan  re- 
ceived but  two  or  three  pupils  and  asked  an  almost  fabulous 
price  for  their  instruction. 

The  furore  subsided  and  the  exercises  were  continued.  Next 
intermission  most  of  the  scholars  kept  their  seats  and  chatted 
together. 

Governor  St.  Aubyn  came  to  the  group  about  Daisy  and 
began  teasing  her  with:  "So  my  sweet  singing-bird  and  Queen 
of  Fairy  Land  is  the  little  girl  who  lives  upon  'our  street,'  and 
who  objects  to  saying  that  she  lives  upon  'my'  street."- 

"My  street,'  said  Daisy,  emphatically. 

"I  believe  that  upon  the  occasion  of  our  last  dispute  upon 
the  subject  we  compromised  by  agreeing  to  call  it  'our'  street," 
said  the  Governor,  laughing.  "I  hope,"  he  added  in  the  orth- 
odox manner,  but  with  fun  gleaming  in  his  eyes,  "that  you 
are  as  '  good  as  you  are  beautiful. '  ' 

' '  No, ' '  said  Daisy,  ' '  I  am  nothing  so  tame  and  commonplace 
as  'good.'  I  am,"  and  she  shook  her  index  finger  instruc- 
tively at  him,  "I  am  a  'something'  in  five  syllables  less  or  more. 
Mostly,  I  am  a  participle,  I  think.  But  I  know  that  I  am  'un- 
ruly,' ' intractible, '  irresponsible,'  'incorrigible,'  'the  very  in- 
carnation of  disobedience  and  insubordination,'  for  Miss  Tor- 
rendycke  says  so,  and  'Trilobitz'  has  been  so  long  upon  the  earth 
that  she  ought  to  know  all  about  everything,  and  she  thinks 
she  does.  Ask  her  to  name  the  other  awful  things  I  am.  Here 
she  is;  coming  to  'nag'  me  a  little  for  a  change.  Nothing  invig- 
orates her  so  much  as  to  make  me  the  recipient  of  her  surplus 
spleen.  But  do  not  ask  me  to  subside  into  a  mere  'goody-good.' 
there  are  too  many  of  that  sort  now,"  and  she  pointed  mis- 
chievously to  the  prim,  precise  figures  of  those  of  her  school- 
mates, who,  anxious  to  please,  sat  rigidly  upright,  looking  with 
shocked  surprise  at  Daisy  Zorlange's  lolling  and  careless  at- 
titude. 

The  Governor  laughed  heartily  and  was  turning  to  <-peak 
1o  Miss  Torrendycke,  when  the  adoration  in  Howard  G:»uld's 
dark  eyes,  as  they  rested  upon  Daisy's  face,  caught  his  atten- 
tion. "Ah!"  he  exclaimed,  "So  that  is  the  way  the  land  Hes, 
is  it,  my  lad?" 

Howard's  face  flushed  hotly,  but  he  replied  honestly: 
"That's  the  way  the  land  lies  in  this  quarter,  Governor." 

"What's  the  'way  the  land  lies'?"  demanded  Daisy,  squirm- 


154  LA  GEAN  QUIBIRA 

ing  under  the  touch  of  the  hand  of  Miss  Torrendycke,  who  turned 
to  the  Governor  and  said:  "I  hope  that  that  you  are  administer- 
ing salutary  reproof  to  this,  the  most  refractory  of  all  my  pn- 
pils. ' ' 

To  which  the  Governor  answered  coolly,  while  Willis  and 
Howard,  always  ready  to  shield  the  sensitive  chill  from  all 
knowledge  of  the  unfair  treatment  to  «vlr«h  she  was  subjected 
upon  every  occasion  by  her  teacher,  oc^upi'H!  her  attention,  while 
the  Governor  did  not  attempt  to  restrain  his  laughter  as  Daisy 
deliberately  told  off  upon  her  fingers,  each  syllable  of  the  long 
word  used  by  the  fault-finding  "Trilobitz,"  "I  find  the 
child  very  charming,"  and  deliberately  turned  to  chaff 
her  anew.  But  Miss  Torrendycke  was  not  to  be  so 
easily  ignored  and  began  at  once  to  say  the  most  disagreeable 
things  possible  to  the  girl. 

Willis  stooped  over  and  pressed  his  lips  to  one  of  Daisy's 
curls.  "Ah!  And  that  is  the  'way  the  land  lies  with  you,'  a^o, 
is  it,  my  boy?" 

Willis  raised  his  blue  eyes  frankly  to  his  father's  face  and 
replied  earnestly:  "And  that  is  the  'way  the  land  lies'  with  me 
also,  daddy." 

"What  is  the  'way  the  land  lies'?"  demanded  Daisy  once 
more,  and  receiving  no  answer  she  grumbled:  "I  think  that  if  I 
were  the  Governor,  I  could  afford  to  talk  plain  'United  States.' 
What  dost  thou  think  is  to  become  of  the  youth  of  this  great 
and  glorious  State  if  its  Governor  sets  the  bad  example  of  talk- 
ing  in  riddles  ? ' '  inquired  she,  mischievously  mimicing  Miss  Tor- 
rendycke's  dictatorial  manner  to  a  nicety. 

But  the  Governor  was  greatly  interested  in  this  love  affair, 
of  which  the  girl  herself  was  apparently  the  only  one  who  was 
ignorant  of  "how  the  land  lay." 

"And  you  sometimes  fight  and  pull  hair,  etc.?" 

' '  Never, ' '  replied  the  .boys.  ' '  This  is  a  case  of  amicable  riv- 
alry," and  the  two  lads  clasped  hands  warmly. 

The  Governor  turned  away  laughing.  "Wait  awhile,"  he 
said. 

"It  will  be  no  different,"  said  Willis,  "we  settled  all  that 
long  ago.  Each  is  to  do  his  best  to  win,  and  that  without  preju- 
dicing the  cause  of  the  other.  It  is  to  be  a  fair  contest  from  first 
to  last." 

Miss  Torrendycke,  still  further  irritated  at  the  abrupt  de- 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  155 

parture  of  the  Governor,  and  willing,  as  usual,  to  vent  her  spleen 
upon  Daisy,  said  severely:  "Miss  Moore  has  just  given  me  a 
very  different  account  of  the  matter  of  your  dressing  yourself 
in  the  color  I  forbade  you  to  wear." 

"Miss  Moore  is  a  liar,"  was  the  calm  reply.  "I  never  take 
the  trouble  to  lie,  as  thou  knowest." 

"Your  language  and  behavior  are  altogether  unsuited  to 
a  young  lady." 

' '  I  am  not  a  '  young  lady ; '  I  do  not  want  to  be  a '  young  lady ' 
and  I  won't  be  a  'young  lady,'  that's  flat,— at  least,  not  yet," 
cried  Daisy,  defiantly,  throwing  herself  back  in  her  chair. 
Neither  had  noted  the  fact  that  the  house  had  been  called  to 
order  and  that  they  were  becoming  the  center  of  the  observation 
of  the  entire  assembly. 

Miss  Torrendycke  was  furious  when  she  found  this  to  be  the 
case,  making  most  unfavorable  comments  upon  Daisy's  conduct. 

"The  old  'cat',"  said  Willis,  spitefully. 

Daisy  was  restored  to  good  humor  at  once  and  turned  to  him 
with  a  beaming  smile.  "That  is  what  I  call  her,"  she  whispered. 
"How  didst  thou  know?" 

"What  will  you  give  me  to  repeat  it  so  that  she  will  hear?" 
asked  he,  coaxingly. 

' '  What  dost  thou  want  ? ' ' 

"That  rose  upon  your  bosom — and  a  kiss,"  said  Willis, 
boldly. 

"Very  well.  The  price  is  high,  but  I  will  give  it."  And 
she  took  the  red  rose  from  its  fastenings  and  pinned  it  upon 
the  lapel  of  Willis'  coat,  then  put  up  her  lips  and  was  much 
surprised  that  he  did  not  take  the  proffered  kiss  for  which  he 
had  bargained.  This,  in  the  face  of  the  attentive  multitude, 
was  a  little  too  much,  even  for  the  cheeky  Willis,  and  Howard 
and  the  rest  were  in  ecstacies  at  his  discomfiture. 

' '  Not  now.  The  pay  is  more  than  I  deserve, ' '  he  whispered 
to  the  pouting  Daisy.  "Keep  the  kiss  for  me  until  I  ask  for  it. 
And  mind  that  you  do  not  give  it  away  in  the  meantime." 

The  mollified  maiden  nodded  assent. 

The  speeches 'and  music  went  on.  But  during  the  remain- 
ing exercises  the  eyes  of  more  than  one  mother  turned  from  their 
own  daughters,  sitting  there  so  stiff  and  decorously  proper,  to 


156  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

the  form  of  the  beautiful,  graceful  girl  who  "would  not  be  a 
young  lady — not  yet,"  and  wished  their  own  were  a  trifle  less 
stiff. 

Even  Gertrude  Grey  was  mollified,  for  by  the  time  the  val- 
edictory address  was  reached,  all  were  attentive  and  apprecia- 
tive. 

And  Daisy,  leaning  her  head  backward  upon  Willis  St. 
Aubyn's  shoulder,  fell  fast  asleep. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  157 

CANTO  THE  THIRTEENTH. 
"THE  REFRACTORY  SONG  BIRD/' 

The  high  school  was  to  hold  a  grand  carnival  of  song,  and 
dance,  and  games.  Everywhere  busy  preparations  were  being 
made  for  the  great  event.  Practice  was  going  on,  both  indoors 
and  out. 

Among  other  features  of  the  entertainment  was  a  cantata. 
This  was  to  be  rehearsed  in  the  chapel  of  the  school.  A  call  had 
been  made  by  Mr.  Fyfe,  the  new  singing  master,  for  all  who 
were  to  take  part  in  this  cantata  to  present  themselves  at  re- 
hearsal. 

The  soprano,  par  excellence,  Gertrude  Grey,  failed  to  make 
her  appearance  upon  this  occasion.  Mr.  Fyfe  fumed  and  fretted 
until  some  one  amused  him  by  saying:  "Why  do  you  not  let 
Daisy  Zorlange  take  Gerturde's  place?" 

Mr.  Fyfe  laughed. 

"Miss  Zorlange  is  not  here  either,"  he  said.  "Nor  do  I  be- 
lieve the  child  would  be  able  to  fill  the  place  of  our  first  so- 
prano. Her  voice,  if  she  has  one," — a  little  spitefully,  for  he 
was  much  chagrined  at  the  defection  of  Miss  Grey,  since  he 
wished  to  insure  perfection  in  one  particular  duet. 

"She  sings  like  an  angel,"  cried  more  than  one  indignant 
voice,  "but  she  scarcely  ever  sings  at  all  when  Gerty  Grey  is 
here.  Gerty  is  so  jealous  of  her,  and  so  mean  to  her  always." 

' '  And  oh, ' '  coaxed  Juliet  Delmar,  "  if  we  can  get  Daisy  Zor- 
lange to  sing,  I  want  to  play  the  accompaniment  myself."  Then 
she  added:  "That  is  the  only  thing  I  am  not  jealous  of  Daisy 
Zorlange  in.  I  cannot  sing  at  all,  and  if  I  could,  I  could  never 
hope  to  sing  like  Daisy.  No  other  human  being  can.  But  I  am 
the  best  accompaniest  in  the  school  and  if  Daisy  can  be  per- 
suaded to  sing  I  claim  the  privilege  of  playing  for  her."  And 
Daisy,  coming  into  the  room  at  this  juncture,  she  made  the  re- 
quest of  her  in  person.  ' '  Old  Fyfe  thinks  that  you  cannot  sing 
that  duet  in  Gerty  Grey's  place.  Just  look  at  that  unbelieving 
sneer  upon  his  divine  countenance,  will  you?" 

This  had  the  desired  effect,  firing  Daisy's  quick  temper, 


158  LA  GRAN  QUEBIBA 

and  she  accepted  the  chair  which  Willis  St.  Aubyn  offered, 
next  his  own,  with  a  shy  blush  and  smile,  and  shared  his  proffered 
singing  book  as  well. 

Juliet  placed  herself  at  the  piano,  and  after  an  elaborate 
prelude,  and  in  the  midst  of  an  expectant  silence  of  the  other 
occupants  of  the  room,  the  duet  commenced. 

As  the  young  girl's  voice  rose  clear  and  yet  more  clear  in 
unison  with  the  rich  tones  of  Willis'  baritone,  all  held  their 
very  breath  to  listen,  as  if  they  feared  to  lose  a  single  intona- 
tion. As  to  the  singing  master,  his  amazed  countenance  would 
at  any  other  time  have  raised  a  hearty  laugh,  but  it  was  a  rare 
treat  to  hear  Daisy  sing,  and  they  did  not  at  that  moment,  care 
one  straw  for  what  was  in  the  mind  of  old  Fyfe.  That  worthy 
forgot,  after  the  first  few  bars,  to  beat  time  to  the  music,  and 
stood,  the  very  impersonation  of  rapturous  awe. 

It  was  Daisy,  herself,  who  broke  the  profound  silence  in 
which  the  song  concluded,  for  Juliet  was  too  true  a  musician  to 
destroy  the  effect  by  supplying  any  superfluous  chords. 

"Why,  Willis,"  she  exclaimed,  "What  a  grand  voice  thou 
hast.  It  is  a  treat  to  sing  with  thee ;  and  so  easy  that  one  could 
not  help  singing,  thou  knowest." 

This  was  Willis'  opportunity.  "I  would  be  glad  if  I  might 
be  permitted  sometimes  to  practice  with  you." 

"Why  not?"  said  Daisy,  "Howard  and  Virginia  and  I 
practice  every  evening  when  our  lessons  are  done,  for  my  fayth- 
er's  edification,  and  thou  canst  join  us  tonight  if  thou  lik'st." 

Willis  was  triumphant,  and  turned  to  Howard,  who  had 
steadily  refused  to  introduce  him  to  the  home  of  Daisy  upon 
his  own  responsibility. 

But  Howard  only  smiled,  well  pleased  at  the  turn  affairs 
had  taken,  and  replied:  "I  told  you  that  it  would  come  about 
in  time,  of  its  own  accord.  Everything  rights  itself  in  time  to 
the  patient  waiter." 

And  so  began  that  series  of  evenings  spent  at  the  Zorlange's, 
which  lasted  throughout  their  entire  course  of  study  at  the  high 
school.  The  two  boys  brought  their  books  there  regularly  each 
evening  and  studied  with  the  two  girls  until  their  lessons  were 
mastered,  under  the  careful  eye  of  Janet,  with  Emil  Zorlange 
himself  to  untie  all  knotty  points  for  them.  Then  one  or  other 
of  them  read  aloud  while  others  occupied  their  hands  with 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  159 

some  light  work,  and  the  evening  of  every  day  in  the  year  was 
ended  with  music,  and  wit-sharpening  games  and  chats  upon  the 
leading  topics  of  the  day. 

Emil  Zorlange  never  tired  of  the  youthful,  out-spoken  com- 
ments, whether  to  the  purpose  or  wide  of  the  mark,  as  they  were 
apt  to  be,  especially  upon  the  political  questions  of  the  hour. 

Meantime,  Daisy  was  receiving  the  congratulations,  and 
compliments  of  the  school  girls,  and  her  astonished  music 
teacher,  who  declared  that  she  should  not  only  sing  first  soprano 
at  the  Carnival,  but  in  the  regular  class  practice. 

Daisy  refused.  "I  am  not  permitted  to  use  my  voice  at 
any  set  time,"  she  said.  "I  can  only  sing  when  I  feel  inclined 
to  do  so." 

"  'Little  birds  who  can  sing  and  won't  sing,  must  be  made 
to  sing',"  he  quoted,  oracularly.  "If  I  say  that  you  must  take 
Miss  Grey's  place,  both  at  this  rehearsal  and  in  class,  you  must 
obey,  must  you  not  ? ' ' 

' '  No, ' '  said  Daisy,  ' '  I  will  not  obey. ' '  Then  she  said,  as  if 
in  defense  of  her  position:  "My  fayther  will  take  me  out  of 
school  if  thou  shouldst  attempt  to  coerce  me  in  the  matter  of 
singing.  He  will  not  permit  me  to  strain  my  voice  in  the  least 
while  I  am  so  young. ' ' 

You  may  be  certain  of  the  delight  of  the  school  girls  in  the 
discomfiture  of  old  Fyfe. 


160  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

CANTO  THE  FOURTEENTH. 

"THE  POETRY  OP  MOTION." 

The  day  of  the  Carnival  arrived.  The  school,  in  carriages, 
were  escorted  to  the  beautiful  grove  at  Marble  Cliff,  by  what 
would  appear  to  have  been  the  entire  musical  force  of  the  city. 

The  test  game  between  the  two  ball  clubs,  "The  Butter- 
cups" and  "The  Daisies,"  was  first  on  the  programme  for  the 
day. 

The  umpire  of  the  winning  club  was  to  be  crowned  Queen 
of  the  Carnival,  by  a  wreath  of  that  flower  from  which  the  club 
took  its  name. 

The  floral  crowns  rested  upon  a  moss-covered  table,  side  by 
side,  and  were  much  admired  by  all.  It  was  impossible  to  say 
which  was  the  prettier,  the  crown  of  gorgeous  buttercups,  or  the 
chaplet  of  simple  white  daisies. 

"Why,  Juliet!  How  perfectly  gorgeous  thou  art,  to  be 
sure,"  exclaimed  Daisy,  stopping  directly  in  front  of  Juliet 
Delmar,  whom  she  had  not  before  seen. 

Juliet  looked  up  and  an  angry  retort  was  upon  her  lips,  but 
Daisy's  wide-eyed  admiration  was  too  genuine  to  be  mistaken, 
and  she  was  instantly  mollified. 

"I  am  glad  some  one  has  the  sense  to  appreciate  my  dress," 
she  said.  "Miss  Torrendycke  has  just  been  lecturing  me  upon 
it.  She  declares  that  my  vanity  has  led  me  into  an  error  of 
extravagance,  and  that  my  dress  is  unsuitable  in  the  highest 
degree." 

"Oh  bother  'Trilobitz',"  said  Daisy,  consolingly:  "why, 
that  old  fossil  would  give  the  half  of  her  scant  remaining  years 
to  be  as  young  and  as  beautiful  as  thou  art  at  this  moment.  My 
taste  in  dress  is,  I  should  imagine,  quite  as  good  as  that  of  'Tril- 
obitz,'  and  I  say  that  the  orange-colored  satin  and  black  lace 
drapery  that  thou  hast  on  is  the  most  becoming  thing  that  thou 
couldst  wear.  What  matter  about  the  material.  It  is  the  effect  one 
looks  at  in  dress,  and  I  declare  that  to  be  perfectly  'gorgeous,' 
as  I  said." 

Daisy's  own  costume  was,  as  usual  upon  such  occasions,  of 


A  MUSICAL   MYSTERY  161 

simplest  white,  of  some  gauzy  fabric,  with  yards  upon  yards  of 
filmy  lace  arranged  in  the  prettiest  apparent  disorder  upon  it. 
No  one  was  ever  quite  certain  whether  Daisy  Zorlange's  toilettes 
were  the  simple  inexpensive  things  they  seemed,  that  certainly 
was  the  effect  aimed  at,  or  were  of  elaborate  richness;  but  Daisy's 
poverty  was  usually  acknowledged  to  be  beyond  doubt,  and 
weighed  down  the  balance  in  favor  of  the  former.  Most  people 
settled  the  disputed  point  by  declaring  that  the  girl,  or  those  who 
chose  her  gowns,  had  matchless  taste  in  dress. 

The  ball  game  was  well  contested.  But  "The  Daisies" 
won,  as  usual,  and  crowned  their  Queen  with  much  eclat,  who, 
in  turn,  insited  upon  crowning  the  disappointed  Juliet  with  the 
crown  of  buttercups,  and  upon  honoring  her  by  detaining  her  at 
her  own  side,  calling  her  her  captive  queen,  and  in  sharing  ev- 
ery honor  of  the  day  with  her. 

The  grounds  were  crowded  with  guests.  At  lunch,  Governor 
St.  Aubyn  and  his  guards  appeared  upon  the  scene.  The  boys 
had  laid  a  wager  that  Daisy  Zorlange  could  not  catch  a  ball 
nine  times  out  of  ten,  tossed  from  a  certain  point.  The  wager 
was  to  be  paid  in  kisses.  The  Governor,  listening  to  this  by-play, 
courteously  offered  to  "hold  the  stakes."  "Come,  Falconer," 
said  he  to  his  aid  in  a  low  ' ' aside, "  "we  are  about  to  have  a  dis- 
play of  ankles,  and  if  the  ankles  are  as  perfect  as  the  face  above 
them,  the  display  will  be  well  worth  seeing." 

"You  will  not  see  much  of  Daisy's  ankles,  I  promise  you, 
daddy,"  whispered  Willis  in  his  ear.  "You  had  better  keep 
your  eyes  uplifted  to  her  lovely  face." 

The  Governor  had  the  grace  to  blush  at  having  been  over- 
heard by  his  younger  son.  "But,  I  say,  daddy,"  laughed  Wil- 
lis, "you  are  a  poet,  you  know,  and  if  you  really  want  to  know 
what  is  meant  by  'the  poetry  of  motion,'  just  watch  Daisy  Zor- 
lange's tout  ensemble,  face,  ankles  and  all,  and  you  will  tinder- 
stand  what  the  phrase  means  in  all  its  perfection. ' ' 

The  Governor  muttered  something  about  "impudent  young 
rascal,"  but,  to  Willis'  delight,  stood  his  ground. 

Howard  Gould,  as  the  best  "pitcher"  of  the  school,  tossed 
the  ball,  and  purposely,  although  unfairly,  a  few  feet  above  her 
head.  But  Daisy,  with  the  lithe,  and  active  grace  of  a  fairy, 
bounded  lightly  from  the  earth  with  movement  so  swift  that 
it  scarcely  ruffled  her  plumage,  or  lifted  the  curls  upon  her 


162  LA  GRAN  QUBBIBA 

forehead.  That  dainty  figure,  poised  in  midair,  was  like  the 
movement  of  some  exquisite  toy  that  rose  and  fell  with  grace- 
ful regularity,  for  Daisy  was  chary  of  her  kisses,  and  never 
failed  to  catch  the  flying  ball,  although  two  other  skillful  pitch- 
ers succeeded  Howard,  whom  they  accused  of  not  having  done 
his  best. 

"The  very  'poetry  of  motion'  indeed!"  cried  Governor  St. 
Aubyn,  in  raptures.  "I  would  have  liked  Bert  Sy den- 
ham  to  have  seen  that,  and  tried  to  put  that  flying  fairy  upon 
canvas  for  me.  I  would  not  grudge  half  my  fortune  for  such 
a  picture." 

Daisy,  overhearing  this,  became,  for  the  first  time,  conscious 
that  she  had  been  making  a  public  display  of  her  graces,  and 
nettled,  she  declared  that  the  Governor,  having  offered  to  "hold 
the  stakes,"  should  receive  and  hold,  subject  to  her  demand,  the 
ten  kisses  each,  that  she  had  won  from  the  three  "pitchers," 
Howard  Gould,  Orville  Roumaine  and  George  Sutton. 

The  boys,  entering  into  the  spirit  of  the  thing,  proceeded  to 
promptly  pay  their  debt  to  her  trustee,  with  scowls,  and  protesta- 
tions, and  grimaces,  which  threw  the  bystanders  into  ecstacies 
of  mirth. 

Daisy's  feat  had  proven  such  an  unbounded  success,  that 
Juliet  Delmar  must  needs  try  her  hand,  or,  to  speak  more  to  the 
point,  her  two  feet  at  the  same  game ;  and  the  boys,  nothing 
loath,  tossed  the  ball  anew. 

The  effect  was  most  pronounced.  Most  of  the  school-girls, 
and  lady  visitors,  slipped  away,  giggling  and  blushing. 

"My  stars!"  cried  the  Governor,  "What  a  display." 

Juliet  Delmar  was  beyond  question  a  very  beautiful  girl 
of  eighteen.  But  her  tall  and  elegant  form  was  scarcely  sylph- 
like  in  its  boundings  from  the  earth,  and  she  could  not,  some- 
how, manage  her  skirts,  which  caught  the  wind  and  allowed 
rather  too  much  of  her  lower  extremities  to  be  seen.  She  seldom 
caught  the  flying  ball  and  had  to  stoop  to  find  it;  a  most  unbe- 
coming attitude  for  one  so  tall  and  so  well  corseted. 

Poor  Daisy  crept  close  up  to  her  and  said  gently,  "Oh, 
Juliet,  do  quit.  Why,  you  show  your  ankles  and  things. ' ' 

But  Juliet  only  cast  a  spiteful  glance  at  her  and  went  on, 
not  heeding  her,  or  the  remonstrances  of  the  others  near  at  hand. 

Finally  the  Reverend  Mr.  Sinclair,  a  bachelor  of  the  olden 


A  MUSICAL.  MYSTERY  163 

school,  climaxed  the  display  by  taking  Miss  Torrendycke  by  the 
arm,  and,  dragging  her  near,  he  pointed  to  Juliet's  bouncing 
figure  and  said  sternly:  "Madam,  as  that  young  lady's  teacher, 
you  are  bound  to  check  that  unseemly  display,  and  to  reprimand 
her  for  her  very  unbecoming  actions." 

"Why,"  was  the  angry  reply  of  Miss  Torrendycke,  as  she 
struggled  to  free  herself  and  to  turn  her  horrified  gaze  away,  ' '  I 
saw  you  watching  the  same  performance  by  Daisy  Zorlange  with 
the  greatest  pleasure  but  a  few  moments  since.  Why  should 
you  find  fault  with  Miss  Delmar  for  the  same  thing?  For  my 
part,  I  see  no  difference." 

' '  The  difference  is  that  the  one  was  the  graceful  and  modest 
movements  of  an  innocent  child,  while  this  is  the  indecent  dis- 
play of  the  mature  charms  of  a  young  woman.  Madam!"  he 
yelled  excitedly,  grasping  her  tightly  with  one  hand,  and  waving 
the  other  tragically  toward  Juliet,  "Madam!  Do  you  see  those 
legs?" 

The  shrieks  of  laughter  which  followed  this,  and  Miss  Tor- 
rendycke 's  apostrophe,  of :  "  Oh.  You  brute,  you —  ! ' ' 

"Which,  being  interpreted  into  Latin,"  shouted  Willis,  to 
his    daddy's    pride    and  delight,    "would  be/  et    tu,    brute/' 
aroused  even  the  obtuse  Juliet  to  the  consciousness  that  she  was 
making  herself  the  laughing  stock  of  all. 

"I  cannot  see  why  they  should  laugh  at  me  any  more  than 
at  Daisy  Zorlange, ' '  she  complained  to  Lotta  Moore,  as  the  two 
walked  away. 

"Your  capers  can  scarcely  be  compared  to  Daisy  Zorlange 's 
poetic  grace  of  movement,"  was  the  answer.  "As  the  Reverend 
Sinclair  put  it,  you  indecently  showed  your  legs." 


164  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

CANTO  THE  FIFTEENTH. 
"THE  RIVAL  QUEENS/' 

The  cantata  was  received  with  the  wildest  applause,  al- 
though Willis  St.  Aubyn  grumbled  loudly  at  having  to  sing  the 
favorite  duet  with  the  black-eyed,  elderly,  Miss  Grey.  (Gertrude 
was  nearly  twenty.)  Daisy  took  part  only  in  the  chorus. 

The  day 's  entertainment  closed  with  its  grandest  feature,  an 
original  ballet.  Both  music  and  steps  had  been  composed  for 
the  occasion.  It  was  called  "The  Rival  Queens."  Indeed,  each 
performance  of  the  day  was  but  a  part  of  a  whole,  and  Daisy 
Zorlange  and  Juliet  Delmar,  the  queens  of  "The  Buttercups" 
and  ' '  The  Daisies, ' '  represented  the  rival  queens  of  the  ballet. 

Supper  was  over,  and  the  spectators  fought  amicably  for 
the  best  places.  The  stage  was  cleared  and  lightd  with  a  soft 
radiance  from  some  hidden  source.  The  orchestra  was  in  its 
place,  and  so  were  the  dancers.  But  the  dancing  master,  who 
was  the  leader  as  well,  and  who  had  arranged  the  whole  ballet, 
was  very  late.  So  late,  in  fact,  that  the  musicians,  anxious  for 
the  display  of  the  new  melodies,  began  to  play  softly,  one  after 
another,  snatches  of  the  most  beautiful  of  these,  and  the  perform- 
ers stepped  impatiently  to  the  music,  although  they  knew  that 
this  was  a  sort  of  betrayal  of  the  secrets  of  the  play.  Friends 
mounted  the  stage  to  chat  with  the  pretty  girls. 

The  Governor  said  to  Daisy:  "Do  you  know,  my  little 
friend,  that  I  am  just  wild  to  spin  that  waltz  the  orchestra  has 
only  hinted  at,  with  you  1 ' ' 

Daisy  coaxed  the  musicians  to  strike  up.  It  was  a  most  in- 
spiring air,  and  Daisy  and  the  Governor,  who  was  a  most  ac- 
complished dancer,  in  spite  of  his  age  and  corpulence,  spun 
thrice  around  the  platform  before  their  sport  was  brought  to  a 
sudden  end  by  the  appearance  of  the  tardy  master  of  ceremonies, 
who  soundly  berated  the  musicians  and  the  Governor,  too,  for 
tiring  out  the  principal  performer. 

The  two  principal  parts  of  the  ballet  had  been  taught  to 
both  Juliet  and  Daisy,  and  the  ball  game  was  to  decide  which 
part  each  was  to  take  in  the  ballet. 


A  MUSICAL   MYSTERY  165 

The  theme  could  not  have  been  better  chosen  had  the  history 
of  the  principal  actors  been  its  foundation. 

The  fairies  are  patterned  after  human  prototypes. 

A  queen  had  been  born  in  fairyland,  but  after  the  king,  her 
father,  had  been  laid  away  to  sleep,  for  the  century  it  would  re- 
quire (according  to  fairy  creed),  to  renew  his  youth  and  come 
among  them  again,  to  rule,  for  only  youth  and  beauty  were  per- 
mitted to  hold  sway  in  fairyland. 

The  daisy  was  chosen  as  her  emblematic  flower,  and,  as  was 
the  custom  of  fairyland,  the  young  queen  bore  its  name.  (Had  the 
ball  game  terminated  differently  the  name  of  the  queen  must 
have  been  Buttercup  instead,  and  Juliet  Delmar  must  have 
taken  the  precedence.) 

The  queen  mother  died  in  giving  birth  to  the  child,  and  so 
great  was  the  grief  and  consternation  of  all  at  her  premature 
death,  (it  was  the  custom  in  fairyland  for  the  mother  of  a  new- 
born sovereign  to  linger  until  her  offspring  was  of  an  age  and 
strength  to  take  the  reigns  of  government  into  their  own  hands), 
that  little  attention  was  for  the  moment  paid  to  the  wee  blossom 
itself.  And  while  the  attention  of  all  was  centered  upon  the 
mother,  this  wee  queen  was  stolen  from  her  cradle  by  a  malign- 
ant fairy  who  had  not  been  bidden  to  the  birth  feast  nor  asked 
to  bestow  a  gift  upon  the  newly  fledged  flower,  and  carried  away 
to  her  lonely  habitation,  where  she  was  placed  under  the  jail- 
orship  of  a  great  black  beetle,  with  orders  to  make  away  with 
her  as  soon  as  possible ;  and  in  her  stead  was  placed  another,  a 
child  of  her  own,  but  whose  size  and  darkly  beautiful  face 
seemed  not  to  the  taste  of  all. 

The  first  offense  committed  by  this  false  queen  was  to  cast 
aside  the  modest  crown  of  daisies,  and  to  assume  one  of  gorgeous, 
golden  buttercups,  as  being  more  becoming  to  her  style  of  beauty. 
This  so  angered  her  godmother,  who  had  her  doubts  and  sus- 
picions aroused,  that  she  at  once  guessed  the  truth,  and  then  and 
there  she  began  what  seemed  to  be  a  hopeless  search  for  the 
missing  fay. 

The  stolen  queen,  herself,  grew  and  thrived  in  spite  of  the 
close  confinement  under  the  stern  guardianship  of  the  black- 
browed  beetle.  And  that  sense  of  superiority,  which  is  inborn, 
made  her  desire  to  rule,  but  there  were  none  to  govern  here  ex- 
cept her  stern  jailor,  and  he  tried  in  every  way  that  he  dared  to 


166  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

shorten  her  existence,  and  so  leave  the  coast  clear  to  her  rival,  who 
inherited  beetle  blood,  and  beetle  instincts. 

Many  times  this  wee  spirit  in  her  endeavor  to  escape  from 
her  prison  house  was  tempted  to  slay  the  great  black  beetle  with 
her  own  hand,  and  many  were  her  opportunities  for  doing  this, 
but  a  something,  not  to  be  explained,  an  inborn  fear  of  staining 
her  hands  with  evil  blood,  restrained  her.  So  she  resolved  to 
bide  her  time  and  embrace  the  first  opportunity  to  escape  into 
the  outside  world  from  which  there  seemed  to  come  to  her, 
whispering  counsels  to  guide  and  to  comfort  her. 

The  truth  was  that  her  identity  had  been  suspected,  and  that 
which  she  herself  believed  to  be  instinct,  or  the  whisperings  of 
fancy,  were,  in  reality,  the  voices  of  friendly  followers,  who  but 
waited  for  her  wings  to  strengthen,  to  offer  her  their  submis- 
sion. But  the  secret  was  bravely  kept.  For  ignorance  of  her 
state  was  the  only  security  for  her  personal  safety.  So  that  not 
even  her  own  godmother  knew  her  whereabouts,  and  only  sus- 
pected that  she  lived  without  knowing  with  any  certainty.  She 
suspected,  from  the  evil  disposition  of  her  bogus  god-daughter, 
that  some  fraud  had  been  perpetrated,  without  knowing  it  to  be 
so,  and  some  of  the  scenes  between  the  furious  old  fairy  and  her 
domineering  god-daughter,  who  could  brook  no  control,  were 
both  amusing  and  effective. 

The  true  queen,  born  to  rule,  as  she  felt,  and  to  conquer  all 
the  obstacles  placed  in  her  path,  performed  her  first  great  feat, 
in  outwitting,  and,  in  a  manner,  conquering,  the  huge  beetle 
who  was  her  arch-enemy,  and  once  outside  his  dominions  she 
was  instantly  joined  by  an  army  of  fairies,  which  delighted  her 
greatly,  for  she  had  before  this  believed  herself  to  be  alone  of 
her  species. 

It  would  be  impossible,  here,  to  describe  the  intricate  wind- 
ing's of  the  story  upon  which  the  ballet  was  founded,  or  to  por- 
tray the  scenes  of  the  play. 

Two  thrones  had  been  erected  upon  opposite  sides  of  the 
stage,  and  each,  together  with  the  dais  upon  which  it  stood,  was 
entirely  covered  with  rich,  velvety  moss,  studded  thickly,  the 
one  with  pure  white  daisies,  the  other  with  golden  buttercups. 

Each  beautiful  queen  had  her  devoted  followers,  and  many 
were  the  vicissitude  of  the  war  for  precedence.  Sometimes 
the  true  queen,  who,  however,  was  known  as  the  insurgent, 
gained  her  throne  in  triumph,  and,  at  the  last,  almost  alone ;  her 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  167 

armies  either  deserting  her  for  a  time  or  being  almost  extermin- 
ated. And  then  came  the  test  of  the  true  and  false.  This  was 
the  beautiful  winged  waltz,  (the  one  which  Daisy  had  taught  to 
Governor  St.  Aubyn).  The  true  queen  floated  about,  apparently 
above  the  ground,  light  as  a  tuft  of  thistledown,  while  it  was 
discovered,  for  the  first  time,  by  the  rival  courtiers,  that,  while 
the  movements  of  the  grandly  beautiful  Queen  Buttercup  were 
elegance  and  grace  combined,  she  was  yet  unable  to  poise  her- 
self above  the  earth.  Great  indeed  was  the  discomfiture  of  her 
allies  at  this;  but  they  themselves,  as  in  duty  bound,  delivered 
their  false  queen  up  to  justice. 

She  was,  of  course,  forced  to  abdicate  her  throne  in  favor 
of  the  true  queen,  by  whom  she  was  uncrowned  and  bound  in 
daisy  chains;  while  her  throne  was  torn  in  pieces  and  the  moss 
and  knots  of  buttercups,  into  the  center  of  each  of  which  a  single 
spotless  daisy  was  inserted,  were  distributed  among  the  spectat- 
ors as  souvenirs  of  this  grand  Carnival  Day. 

The  ballet,  which  introduced  every  new  step,  and  supplied 
some  newer  ones,  proved  to  be  the  grand  event  of  the  grand  Car- 
nival, and  the  new  airs  and  new  steps  became  the  rage  for  a 
long  time  to  come.  The  delighted  dancing  master  was  declared 
to  be  a  wizard,  for  it  would  seem  that  he  had  forseen  even  the 
most  trifling  event  of  this  eventful  day,  and  set  it  to  music  and  . 
motion. 

The  Daisy  throne  was  preserved  in  all  its  beauty,  and  was 
awarded  to  the  victorious  queen;  and  kept  its  verdure  and  its 
sweetness  and  freshness  for  many  a  day  thereafter  in  the  Zor- 
lange  home. 


168  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

CANTO  THE  SIXTEENTH. 
"THE  DEDICATION." 

The  new  high  school  building  was  not  ready  for  occupancy 
until  after  the  middle  of  the  next  term.  There  was  to  be  no 
sort  of  celebration  of  the  great  event  of  taking  formal  posses- 
sion of  their  new  quarters,  as  the  scholars  had  hoped.  The  stud- 
ents gathered  up  their  books  and  were  to  march,  in  quiet  state, 
so  Miss  Torrendycke  and  the  other  teachers  had  said,  and  take 
silent  possession  of  their  respective  departments. 

Everybody  was  disappointed,  of  course,  for  the  average 
school  girl  and  boy  is  greatly  addicted  to  display.  There  came 
near  being  a  mutiny.  Daisy  Zorlange  tipped  the  wink,  as  it  were, 
and  gave  a  few  commands,  in  a  whispered  aside,  to  some  of 
her  allies  in  mischief. 

"Daisy  Zorlange  to  the  rescue,"  was  the  muffled  warcry,  as 
they  watched  and  followed  her  every  movement. 

Now,  it  so  happened  that  Miss  Torrendycke 's  room  was  the 
first  ready  for  the  flitting,  and  the  girls,  bonnetted  and  caped, 
following  Daisy's  example,  shouldered  their  school-satchels  like 
knapsacks,  caught  up  their  umbrellas  (it  chanced  to  be  a  rainy 
day)  and  prepared  to  march. 

"Now,  young  ladies,  observe  the  greatest  possible  silence, 
and  decorum,"  quoth  Miss  Torrendycke,  sharply. 

"Yes'm,"  said  Daisy,  and  at  once  slipped  from  the  rear 
rank  to  the  front,  giving  rapid  orders  as  she  went. 

Then,  before  Miss  Torrendycke  could  interfere,  Daisy  called 
quickly:  "  'The  Soldier's  Chorus.'  Forward!  March!"  And  the 
umbrellas  came  down  in  a  well-timed  chorus:  "Thump,  Thump, 
Thumpety,  Thump.  Thump,  Thump,  Thumpety  Thump, 
Thump." 

Expostulation  was  of  no  use.  Nothing  could  be  heard  but 
the  measured  tread  of  the  insurgents,  and  the  "Thumpety, 
Thump ' '  of  the  umbrella  band. 

Down  the  stairs,  and  out  into  the  street,  marched  the  troop. 

As  they  left  the  building,  at  a  signal  from  their  dauntless 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  169 

leader,  they  joined  their  voices  to  the  umbrella  accompaniment, 
and  the  other  rooms,  filing  into  their  places,  took  it  up  and  the 
air  resounded  with  the  grand  chorus  from  "Faust:"  "Glory  and 
love  to  the  men  of  old.  Etc.,  etc.,  etc." 

The  effect  was  grand.  The  school,  numbering  two  hundred 
pupils,  and  the  teachers,  laughing  and  scolding,  joined  in.  Peo- 
ple rushed  out  of  their  houses,  and  bare-headed,  joined  in  the 
procession.  Passing  carriages  joined  the  train,  while  their  oc- 
cupants joined  in  the  chorus.  They  marched  by  the  hall  in 
which  the  brass  band  was  practicing  and  they  instantly  took  up 
the  air  and  headed  the  procession.  Orville  Roumaine,  who 
climbed  like  a  monkey,  had  at  the  beginning,  mounted  the  flag- 
staff and  secured  the  colors,  then  took  his  place  as  color-bearer 
to  the  army.  And  Daisy,  tying  her  fur  muff  upon  her  curly 
head,  kept  her  own  place  as  drum  major,  using  her  umbrella 
most  skillfully  as  a  baton. 

The  enthusiasm  grew.  Houses  were  left  tenantless  and  un- 
protected, while  every  man,  woman  and  child  of  that  quarter  of 
the  city  joined  in  this  triumphal  march,  and  not  a  single  voice 
in  all  that  vast  throng  was  silent. 

Governor  St.  Aubyn  had  been  up  to  see  the  newly  com- 
pleted building,  and  was  chatting  with  the  superintendent  of 
the  schools,  when  from  down  the  street  there  came  a  sound  as  of 
the  return  of  a  victorious  army.  Looking  out  of  an  upper  win- 
dow they  soon  commanded  a  view  of  the  whole  procession. 

It  was  not  difficult  to  tell  who  was  the  leading  spirit  of  the 
whole  proceeding. 

' '  By  George, ' '  said  the  Governor,  ' '  That  girl  was  born  to  be 
a  general." 

Daisy's  quick  eye,  catching  sight  of  the  two  figures  at  the 
upper  window,  her  quick  wit  introduced  a  new  and  striking  fea- 
ture into  the  impromptu  parade.  At  her  command,  the  whole 
procession  filed  in  review  before  the  Governor  and  his  staff  of 
one,  and  saluted  him  as  in  duty  bound ;  then,  making  the  circuit 
of  the  square,  turned  and  mounted  the  staircase,  four  abreast. 

The  cheers  that  arose  both  from  within  and  without  the  build- 
ing were  literally  stunning.  Daisy  and  her  allies  broke  rank 
and  acted  as  ushers  to  the  crowd,  the  half  of  whom  could  not 
find  seats  in  the  immense  hall. 

Then  Daisy  gravely  said  that  no  true  American  assembly 


170  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

was  ever  held  without  speeches  from  the  notables  present.  So 
in  turn  she  introduced  in  a  few  mischievous  words,  first  the  Gov- 
ernor, then  the  Mayor  of  the  city,  who,  bare-headed,  had  joined 
the  procession,  and  then  the  Superintendent  of  the  Public 
Schools;  who,  each  in  turn,  said  a  few  pithy  words  appropriate 
to  the  occasion.  Daisy  then  called  loudly  upon  Miss  Torren- 
dycke,  who  refused  to  respond,  and  all  called  loudly  for  a 
speech  from  the  ringleader  herself.  And  Daisy,  the  shyest 
of  mortals,  but  drawn  completely  out  of  herself  by  her  love  of 
mischief,  mounted  the  rostrum  and  in  a  most  ludicrous  manner 
recited : 

"There  was  a  little  girl 

And  she  had  a  little  curl, 

A-hanging  down  over  her  forehead, 

And  when  she  was  good,  she  was  very  good  indeed, 

But  when  she  was  bad  she  was  '  horrid. '  ' 

After  this  the  school  formed  in  line  again  and  accompanied 
by  the  admiring  crowd  they  took  formal  possession  of  their 
various  study  and  recitation  rooms,  while  the  upper  hall  was 
cleared  and  impromptu  tables  constructed,  for  the  Governor  had 
ordered  luncheon  to  be  served  for  the  whole  number  of  students 
and  such  as  cared  to  be  their  guests. 

Near  the  close  of  this  repast,  Daisy  gravely  presented  to  the 
superintendent,  a  frame  containing  a  printed  placard,  with  a 
pretense  of  needing  an  explanation.  Entering  into  the  spirit  of 
the  thing,  Mr.  Kingsley  read  aloud:  "The  Rules  and  Regulations 
of  the  School. ' '  This  was  received  amid  shouts  of  laughter,  for 
it  was  found  that  each  and  every  one  of  these  rules  and  regula- 
tions had  been  already  broken  by  officers,  teachers  and  scholars, 
alike,  upon  that  memorable  dedication  day. 

The  day  was  well  nigh  ended,  and  Governor  St.  Aubyn  ten- 
dered the  use  of  his  own  carriage  to  the  tired  general  and  her 
aids.  The  Governor  and  Mr.  Kingsley  stood  at  the  window, 
watching  the  pretty  scene  below.  Daisy's  particular  cronies, 
Ella  Howell,  Virginia  Carson,  and  Howard  Gould,  had  taken 
their  places  in  the  carriage,  and  only  waited  for  Willis  to  tie 
Daisy's  bonnet  strings,  to  be  off.  But  those  bonnet  strings  seem- 
ed to  be  as  refractory  as  their  owner  and  refused  to  be  tied.  Just 
as  Willis  thought  he  had  them  secure,  Daisy  would  bend  her 
head  and  take  a  bite  from  a  luscious  peach  which  had  been  given 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  171 

her,  and  the  work  had  to  be  done  all  over  again.  Finally,  Willis 
took  courage  to  tell  her  that  if  she  wouldn't  stop  eating,  the 
bonnet  could  never  be  tied. 

"Oh,"  cried  Daisy,  with  well  assumed  innocence.  "Why! 
why  didst  not  thou  tell  me  before  ? ' '  And  she  threw  away  the  pit 
of  the  peach,  perked  up  her  pretty  chin,  and,  the  knot  safely  tied, 
nimbly  eluded  Willis  in  his  attempt  to  take  "toll"  in  the  shape 
of  a  kiss,  and  sprang  into  the  carriage,  leaving  him  to  follow  as 
best  he  might,  amid  the  laughing  taunts  of  the  lookers-on. 

"A  pretty  picture,  truly,"  said  Mr.  Kingsley,  adding:  "I 
wonder  which  of  those  two  lads  will  win  the  prize?" 

"Mine,  I  hope,"  replied  the  Governor. 

His  friend,  remembering  a  certain  little  conference  he  had 
held  with  Willis  St.  Aubyn,  said  "I  hope  so  too." 

Neither  of  the  two  boys  had  ever  hinted  to  Daisy  of  love, 
remaining  true  to  their  original  compact  that  Daisy  was  to  be 
left  to  awaken  from  childhood's  dream  after  her  own  fashion. 

But  a  few  days  after  this  Willis,  meeting  her  alone  upon 
the  landing  of  one  of  the  staircases  of  the  new  school  building, 
was  seized  with  a  isudden  longing  and  reminded  her  that  she 
owed  him  that  kiss  she  had  promised  him  at  the  school  exhibi- 
tion. 

Daisy  was  about  to  comply  by  prompt  payment  of  the  de- 
mand, but  something  in  Willis'  face  made  her  flush  a  little  and 
gaze  at  him  with  startled  eyes,  then  she  turned  suddenly  and  ran 
away. 

Willis  felt  that  he  had  committed  a  blunder,  and  it  was  a 
long  time  before  he  could,  by  using  the  greatest  tact,  gain  her 
confidence  again. 


172  LA   GRAN    QUIBIRA 

CANTO  THE  SEVENTEENTH. 
"ACCUSING  SPIRITS." 

If,  for  once,  Daisy  Zorlange  had  been  given  her  dues, 
she  was  made  to  pay  dearly  for  it  at  school.  Juliet  Delmar 
never  forgave  her  the  victory  she  had  won  on  that  memorable 
Carnival  day,  and  Miss  Torrendycke  made  her  own  hatred  of  the 
girl  more  pronounced  than  ever  before. 

Poor  Daisy.  "Uneasy  lies  the  head  that  wears  the  crown." 
And  the  weight  of  that  wreath  of  daisies  was  made  an  almost 
insupportable  burden  to  her.  She  was  corrected  so  sharply  and 
so  severely  for  every  slight  offense,  condoned  in  another,  that 
she  was  irritated  into  committing  innumerable  other  offenses. 
Even  her  firm  allies,  Virginia,  Howard,  and  Willis  smarted  under 
the  sense  of  the  injustice  done  to  Daisy.  Many,  however,  were  the 
pranks  with  which  she  tried  the  patience  of  her  teachers. 

The  class  in  geometry  had  recited  in  Miss  Prentice's  room. 
Daisy  taking  a  most  decided  dislike  to  the  study  beforehand,  from 
hearing  it  there,  tried  to  take  advantage  of  the  permission  usually 
granted  to  avoid  the  study  by  taking  another  instead.  This  per- 
mission, accorded  to  others,  was  refused  to  her.  She  took  no 
interest,  however,  in  the  study  and  by  some  strange  combina- 
tion of  circumstances,  she  had  never  been  called  upon  in  the 
class  to  draw  a  figure. 

One  day  when  the  class  was  fully  three-fourths  through 
what  she  was  pleased  to  call  "Loomis'  Patent  Brain-Muddler," 
she  was  nonplussed  by  having  the  teacher,  say  suddenly,  "Miss 
Zorlange,  please  draw  the  figure  upon  the  blackboard  for  the 
class." 

"Can't,  "drawled  Daisy. 

"Please  go  to  the  blackboard  and  draw  the  circle,"  com- 
manded Mr.  Tuckham,  sternly. 

"Can't,"  replied  Daisy. 

The  reproof  upon  Mr.  Tuckham 's  lips  was  stayed  vy  a  viol- 
ent knocking  from  no  one  could  say  what  precise  quarter. 
"Thump,  thump,  thump."  And  very  noisy  "thumps"  they  were, 
too ;  so  noisy  that  recitation  was  impossible  while  they  continued. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  173 

''What  is  the  meaning  of  this,"  demanded  Mr.  Tuckham. 

No  one  answered.  But  most  of  the  class  turned  to  Daisy 
Zorlange,  as  if  she,  being  at  the  bottom  of  all  mischief,  could 
solve  the  riddle. 

"Miss  Zorlange,"  questioned  the  bewildered  Mr.  Tuckham, 
"What  is  the  meaning  of  all  this  racket?" 

Daisy  stared  in  wide-eyed  amazement.  "Somebody's  knock- 
ing," she  suggested,  in  an  "I  guess"  sort  of  way,  which  threw 
the  class  into  convulsions  of  laughter.  "I  wonder — I  really  do 
wonder  if  there  were  any  of  them  there,"  she  soliloquized  in  a 
meditative  manner. 

This  gave  the  clue  to  the  mystery.  And  one  of  the  girls 
said:  "I  saw  some  of  the  girls  go  down  into  the  basement  just 
before  school  was  called  at  noon. ' ' 

Ignoring  Miss  Zorlange 's  suggestion,  made  in  a  ludicrously 
deprecating  manner,  that  it  might  be  "spirit  rappings,"  one  of 
the  boys,  whose  steps  were  hurried  by  the  continued  "thumpety, 
thump,  thump,  thump,"  ran  to  Mr.  Twirl's  room  and  getting 
the  key  to  the  door  of  the  cellar  stairway,  promptly  set  at  liberty 
a  half-dozen  of  about  as  angry  spirits  as  could  well  be  found,  all 
of  whom  were  accusing  Daisy  Zorlange. 

"Oh!"  said  Daisy  with  the  most  exaggerated  gesture  of 
astonishment,  "Oh!  And  were  they  really  there?  You  see,"  she 
added  in  explanation,  "Mr.  Twirl  let  me  have  the  key  only  upon 
the  condition  that  I  return  it  just  as  soon  as  the  bell  rang.  I  had 
no  more  than  got  to  the  bottom  of  the  staircase  when  the  second 
bell  did  ring,  then  I  called  to  the  girls  and  hurried  as  fast  as 
possible  up  the  stairs.  Then  I  called  again,  and,  no  one  answer- 
ing back,  of  course  I  locked  the  door  and  carried  the  key  back 
to  Mr.  Twirl,  as  I  had  promised." 

Daisy's  innocence  of  all  intent  was  too  plainly  written  upon 
her  face  to  be  questioned  by  Mr.  Tuckham  who,  we  may  as  well 
confess,  was  the  only  one  there  in  the  least  deceived  by  her  ab- 
ject apologies.  And  he  sharply  reprimanded  them  for  their 
unfair  accusations,  as  well  as  for  their  unseemly  and  noisy  be- 
havior, which  had  disturbed  the  recitations  of  the  geometry 
class. 

"Miss  Zorlange.  You  will  now  draw  that  circle  upon  the 
blackboard." 

' '  Can 't, ' '  reiterated  Daisy.    ' '  Don 't  know  how. ' ' 


174  LA   GRAN    QUIBIRA 

"Do  you  mean  that  you  have  studied  geometry  for  more 
than  a  year  and  yet  do  not  know  how  to  draw  a  '  circle  ? '  ' 

"I  remember  trying  my  hand  at  it  a  long  time  ago,  but," 
and  she  gave  vent  to  a  doleful  sigh  which  convulsed  the  class 
again,  and  with  a  sort  of  sniveling  whine:  "I  need  encourage- 
ment, that's  what  I  need.  And  finding  none,  for  thou  never  called 
upon  me  to  draw  a  single  figure  in  recitation,  I  failed. ' ' 

"Miss  Zorlange,"  said  Mr.  Tuckham,  in  real  alarm,  "I  am 
very  sorry  if  I  have  in  any  means  been  remiss.  Go  to  the  black- 
board, and  I  will  teach  you  not  only  how  to  draw  the  preliminary 
'circle,'  but  also  the  entire  figure  of  the  lesson  of  today." 

Well,  Miss  Zorlange  went  to  the  blackboard  and  received,  to 
her  pretended  astonishment,  a  bit  of  crayon  with  a  string  at- 
tached. She  evidently  tried  very  hard  to  manipulate  this  tool 
successfully.  But  the  thing  she  drew  upon  the  blackboard  could 
never  have  been  mistaken  for  a  "circle"  even  by  the  lenient 
Mr.  Tuckham,  who  at  length  lost  patience,  not  at  the  delinquent, 
be  it  remarked,  but  at  the  ridiculing  class  which  was  in  a  con- 
tinual uproar  at  the  sight  of  the  monstrosities  which  continued 
to  creep  from  under  that  bit  of  crayon,  and  at  Daisy's  innocent 
and  anxious  inquiry  after  each  futile  effort,  "Will  that  do, 
Mr.  Tuckham?"  At  length  he  said:  "You  will  now  go  to 
your  own  study  room,  Miss  Zorlange,  and  learn  how  to  draw  a 
"circle,"  so  that  you  will  be  able  to  place  one  upon  the  black- 
board at  tomorrow's  recitation." 

And  five  minutes  later  Daisy  was  absorbing  the  attention 
of  the  occupants  of  Miss  Torrendycke 's  room  in  her  efforts  to 
learn  how  to  draw  a  "circle."  It  was  most  wonderful  what 
magnetic  power  this  girl  possessed.  When  she  chose,  she  had 
a  faculty  of  leading  every  one  on  to  their  own  discomfiture. 

Next  day  when  called  upon,  Daisy  hastened  with  graceful 
alacrity  to  the  blackboard,  and  with  a  grand  flourish  she  drew 
a  circle  that  was  the  very  perfection  of  circles.  There  she 
stopped,  acknowledging  with  the  greatest  frankness,  that  this 
was  all  that  she  had  been  told  to  learn  of  the  figure  and  that, 
consequently,  was  all  she  knew  about  it. 

Mr.  Tuckham  was  very  angry.  "Miss  Zorlange,  you  will 
return  to  this  room  at  noon  and  I  will  teach  you  how  to  draw 
the  figure." 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  175 

Brimming  over  with  mischief,  Daisy  made  her  way  thither 
at  the  appointed  time. 

When  reprimanded  by  Mr.  Tuckham  for  her  apparent 
stubbornness,  she  took  on  such  an  air  of  injured  innocence,  that 
it  quite  deceived  the  unwary  bachelor,  and  he  patiently  drew 
(by  installments)  every  portion  of  the  intricate  figure,  himself, 
and  each  time  let  it  stand  at  her  request. 

"Ah,"  said  he,  admiring  the  completed  work.  "That  is 
well  done,  Miss  Zorlange.  The  figure  you  have  drawn  would 
do  credit  to  the  very  best  pupil  in  my  class." 

"The  figure  th-ou  hast  drawn,"  echoed  Daisy  softly,  but 
with  so  much  significance  in  her  tone  that  the  teacher,  exam- 
ining the  figure  more  closely,  found  that  every  line  (barring 
the  circle  itself),  was  his  own  handiwork.  He  then  turned  to 
his  refractory  pupil  in  great  wrath:  "Miss  Zorlange,"  he 
exclaimed,  ignoring  her  softly  spoken,  "It  is  so  much  better 
than  I  could  do,  thou  knowest,"  "Miss  Zorlange,  I  will  not 
have  you  in  my  class  again.  You  shall  be  reduced  to  the  algebra 
class,  and  begin  at  the  beginning  in  geometry  next  year." 

But  Daisy  took  her  stand,  and  maintained  her  ground  as 
usual.  "She  would  not  leave  the  geometry  class.  It  had  not 
been  her  fault  she  had  been  for  so  long  a  time  overlooked  that 
she  had  lost  all  interest  in  the  study,  from  which  she  had  begged 
so  hard  to  be  excused." 

The  question  was  referred  to  the  School  Board,  and  com- 
promised after  this  fashion:  "Miss  Zorlange  was  to  recite  in 
both  the  algebra  and  the  geometry  classes,  and  not  lose  her 
grade,"  and  Mr.  Tuckham  was  obliged  to  submit  to  this  decision. 


176  LA   GRAN    QUIBIRA 

CANTO  THE  EIGHTEENTH. 
"THE  HAUNTED  SCHOOL- ROOM. " 

The  new  high  school  building  had  not  been  occupied  long 
before  something  which  seemed  inexplicable  happened.  The 
afternoon  session  had  been  called.  The  young  ladies  in  Miss 
Torrendycke  's  room  were  taking  their  seats  somewhat  noisily, 
and  it  was  observed  that  Juliet  Delmar  stooped  forward  to  make 
some  urgent  request,  as  it  would  seem,  of  Daisy  Zorlange,  whose 
desk  was  directly  in  front  of  her  own. 

Daisy  appeared  to  hesitate.  Then  she  snatched  up  a  Bible, 
used  in  chapel  by  the  devout  Juliet,  and  said :  ' '  Swear !  Swear 
upon  thy  solemn  oath  never,  never  to  tell,  and  I  will  do  it." 

Juliet  placed  her  lips  to  the  sacred  volume  and  said:  "I 
swear. ' ' 

Then  the  entire  room  became  quiet,  for  this  was  one  of  the 
hours  devoted  to  study,  there  being  no  recitations  in  the  room 
at  that  time.  The  silence  was  broken  by  the  sound  of  a  voice, 
singing  softly. 

Every  one  looked  up  in  astonishment,  Miss  Torrendycke  as 
well,  who  sharply  commanded:  " Silence!"  But  the  music 
continued  without  a  break. 

Miss  Torrendycke  said:  "Young  ladies,  this  will  not  do. 
Whoever  that  is  who  is  singing,  come  forward  at  once." 

No  one  stirred,  and  after  several  ineffectual  remonstrances, 
Miss  Torrendycke  slowly  left  her  seat  .and  made  the  tour  of 
the  schoolroom  to  determine  if  possible  whence  the  mysterious 
music  came.  She  halted  from  time  to  time  near  some  suspected 
delinquent.  You  may  be  certain  that  Daisy  Zorlange  was  one 
of  these.  She  spoke  to  Daisy,  and  Daisy  answered.  Yet,  but 
for  the  instant  of  her  reply  which  drowned  the  sound,  the 
music  sounded  clear  and  distinct,  and  after  her  reply  not  a 
muscle  of  the  girl's  face  moved. 

Every  one  was  interested  and  mystified.  The  tunes,  which 
changed  from  time  to  time,  could  be  plainly  distinguished  and 
followed,  but  it  was  as  if  the  air  was  hummed  by  some  sweet 
voice  without  the  words. 


A   MUSICAL,  MYSTERY  177 

There  was  such  an  undercurrent  of  excitement  at  last  over 
this  mystery  that  it  was  impossible  to  control  it.  Miss  Torren- 
dycke  softly  trod  up  and  down  the  aisles,  but  every  effort  to 
trace  the  music  to  its  source  proved  abortive. 

Then  Daisy  Zorlange  commenced  a  sort  of  double  panto- 
mime. I  have  said  that  Daisy  possessed  rare  magnetic  powers, 
and  now,  having  succeeded  in  fixing  the  eyes  of  the  company 
upon  herself,  as  it  were,  she  inclined  her  curly  head  as  if  in- 
tently listening,  raised  her  finger  to  her  lips  as  if  to  insure 
profound  silence,  then  proceeded  to  trace  with  it  the  location  of 
the  mysterious  singer,  whose  song  went  on  in  tireless  tones. 

Thrice  the  accusing  finger  was  pointed  and  shaken  at  one 
or  other  of  the  girls,  who  stoutly  denied  the  soft  impeachment, 
and  at  length  was  so  positive  in  its  accusation  of  Lotta  Moore, 
that  it  was  thought  to  be  unquestionably  she  who  was  creating 
all  this  disturbance. 

Lotta  simply  howled  with  indignant  protest.  "It  is  she, 
herself,"  she  cried.  "Who  but  Daisy  Zorlange,  I  should  like 
to  know,  could  execute  those  trills?" 

There  was  something  in  this.  Miss  Torrendycke  made  her 
way  once  more  to  Daisy's  desk,  and  questioned  her,  but  with 
the  same  result. 

Daisy  looked  at  her  with  such  innocent,  reproachful  eyes, 
asking  her  how  it  was  possible  for  her  to  suspect  her,  and  with- 
out a  single  muscle  of  her  face  relaxing  as  the  song  went  on, 
that  it  was  impossible  to  longer  doubt  her. 

Then  she  said  that  it  must  be  some  one  outside  the  school- 
room, and  the  windows  were  raised  and  heads  thrust  out,  all 
to  no  purpose.  The  room  was  upon  the  second  floor,  and  high 
above  the  ground.  Other  and  lower  rooms  were  visited,  and 
questions  asked.  But  no  one  as  yet  could  determine  the  origin 
of  the  music,  which  still  continued  with  unabated  sweetness  and 
force.  The  excitement  ran  higher  and  higher,  and  spread 
throughout  the  entire  building.  Teachers  and  scholars  from 
the  other  rooms  flocked  in  to  listen  with  bated  breath  to  the 
mysterious  music.  Many  crowded  close  around  Daisy  Zorlange, 
suspecting,  as  usual,  that  well-known  spirit  of  mischief  was  at 
the  bottom  of  the  whole  affair.  But  her  innocence  became  so 
apparent  to  all,  that  they  were  ashamed  of  their  unjust  sus- 
picions, and  Daisy  kept  up  her  detective  by-play  with  the  utmost 


178  LA  GRAN  QUIBIKA 

success  until  she  had  fully  half  a  dozen  of  the  girls  she  liked 
the  least  in  tears.  Then  she  said  in  an  awe-stricken  voice:  "It 
is  the  voice  of  an  angej."  And  after  she  had  seen,  to  her 
delight  that  some  of  the  girls  who  were  Catholics,  crossed  them- 
selves, and  muttered  an  "Ave,"  she  corrected  the  impression 
and  raised  a  laugh  by  saying:  "But  an  angel  would  hardly  be 
singing  'Shoo  Fly,'  you  know." 

Well,  the  mystery  deepened,  and  was  left  unsolved.  The 
school  was  wild  with  excitement.  Some  were  laughing  and  some 
crying,  and  some  praying,  while  Juliet  Delmar  was  carried 
home  in  a  violent  fit  of  hysterics.  The  school  was  broken  up 
for  the  afternoon. 

The  story  got  out,  and  the  newspapers  were  full  of  the 
tale  of  the  haunted  schoolroom.  Reporters  and  others  visited 
the  school  daily  in  the  hope  of  hearing  the  "spirit  music,"  but 
all  in  vain. 

The  sweet  singing  having  wound  up  after  the  successful 
rendering  of  "Shoo  Fly,"  in  true  orthodox  fashion  with  the 
"Long  Meter  Doxology, "  refused  to  be  encored. 

It  was  fully  ten  days  after  this  that  Daisy,  coming  into 
the  schoolroom  from  one  of  her  "runs  around,"  stopped  just 
within  the  door  in  profound  astonishment,  for  there  upon  the 
front  seat,  that  of  disgrace  when  not  in  use  for  recitation,  sat 
that  pink  of  propriety,  Juliet  Delmar,  weeping  bitterly. 

"Why,  Miss  Torrendycke, "  she  demanded  with  her  cus- 
tomary abrupt  disregard  of  all  rules  and  proprieties,  "What- 
ever has  Juliet  done?" 

And  Miss  Torrendycke  replied,  as  in  duty  bound,  "Miss 
Delmar  knows  who  did  the  singing  the  other  day,  but  refuses 
to  disclose  the  name  of  the  singer." 

' '  But  Juliet,  why  don 't  thee  tell,  and  not  sit  there  sniveling 
like  that?" 

"You  made  me  swear  that  I  would  never  tell,"  whined 
Juliet,  "and  I  cannot  break  my  oath." 

"Oh,"  said  Daisy,  "I  give  thee  leave  to  tell."  Then  as 
Juliet  shook  her  head,  sorrowfully  murmuring  something  about 
her  sacred  oath,  Daisy  turned  to  Miss  Torrendycke  and  said, 
"It  was  I  who  did  it." 

"Impossible,"  was  the  reply,  "why,  I  stood  close  beside 
you  and  the  sound  seemed  to  be  just  as  far  away  as  before." 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  179 

Daisy  raised  a  warning  finger  to  insure  silence,  tucked  her 
head  upon  one  side,  and  began  some  twitters  and  trills,  which 
as  Lotta  had  truthfully  said  were  only  possible  to  herself,  and 
this  with  her  lips  parted  in  a  saucy  smile  without  moving  a 
muscle  of  her  face. 

"Wonderful."  "Beautiful."  "How  very  odd,"  were  the 
exclamations  from  the  other  girls  and  Miss  Torrendycke  herself 
laughed  heartily  for  once  at  this,  the  very  worst  of  Daisy's 
escapades,  remembering  perhaps  the  number  of  others  who  had 
been  taken  in  by  the  trick. 

"Now,"  said  Daisy,  "Juliet  may  go  to  her  own  seat,  may 
she  not?" 

"Miss  Delmar  must  remain  where  she  now  is." 

Juliet  set  up  such  a  doleful  howl  at  this,  that  the  whole 
school  was  convulsed  with  laughter. 

But  Daisy's  tender  little  heart  was  touched,  and  she 
pleaded.  "Now,  please,  Miss  Torrendycke.  Thou  seest,  Miss 
Torrendycke,"  she  added  pathetically,  "she  is  not  used  to  it, 
and  I  am.  Please  let  me  take  her  place." 

But  Miss  Torrendycke  said,  "No,"  and  Juliet  set  up  another 
laughable  howl,  and  accusing  Daisy  as  the  author  of  all  her 
troubles,  she  sobbed  piteously,  while  Daisy  went  slowly  and 
sadly  to  her  own  seat. 

At  recess  the  girls  nocked  about  Daisy  who  became  the 
wonder  and  pride  of  the  hour.  All  took  sides  against  the  spite- 
ful, unforgiving  Juliet,  who  had  practically  betrayed  the  con- 
fidence of  her  schoolmate,  a  capital  offense  in  school-girl  code 
of  honor,  and  shamed  her  for  being  so  selfish  and  hateful  to 
the  generous  Daisy. 

But  Juliet  never  forgave  Daisy  for  escaping  the  reprimand 
she  had  been  called  upon  to  receive  herself. 

"But  why  did  you  not  confess  it  to  us,  Daisy?  You  need 
not  have  kept  us  in  the  dark.  We  would  never  have  told  on 
you,"  protested  Howard  and  Willis. 

' '  I  would  only  have  got  thee  into  a  scrape,  as  I  did  Juliet  -, 
besides  I  never  told  Virginia.  Only  Juliet  and  I  knew  that  1 
am  something  of  a  ventriloquist." 


180  LA  GRAN  QUIBIBA 

CANTO  NINETEENTH. 

"VASHTI." 

Shortly  after  this  the  high  school  held  its  fall  picnic.  This 
they  called  an  "October  walk."  A  long  walk  to  some  neighbor- 
ing wood  through  which  a  stream  ran,  and  where  fishing,  danc- 
ing, both  dinner  and  supper  beside  a  huge  camp-fire,  and  a  stroll 
home  in  the  moonlight  were  the  order  of  the  day. 

A  few  hundred  yards  above  the  present  picnic  grounds, 
the  banks  of  the  rapidly  running  river  were  very  steep  and 
high,  and  across  them  the  river  was  spanned  by  an  open  trestle- 
work  railway  bridge.  It  was  well  known  that  Daisy  Zorlange 
(in  school-boy  parlance)  would  never  "take  a  dare."  Once 
today  Juliet  Delmar  had  dared  her  to  pluck  a  flower  which  grew 
upon  the  steep  and  unstable  bank  half  way  down  to  the  water's 
edge,  and  Daisy,  in  spite  of  remonstrance  from  wiser  heads 
had  brought  up  the  flower,  her  fleetness  and  lightness  of  foot 
carrying  her  safely  through  the  dangerous  enterprise,  where  a 
heavier  person  must  inevitably  have  been  hurled  into  the  raging 
stream,  the  foothold  being  so  uncertain,  every  shrub  being  up- 
rooted, in  the  attempt  to  hold  by  it. 

Yet  a  little  later  Daisy's  and  Juliet's  heads  were  seen  in 
close  proximity,  and  soon  to  the  horror  of  all,  there  stood  Daisy 
Zorlange 's  slender  figure  clearly  outlined  against  the  sky  upon 
the  bridge,  springing  from  tie  to  tie,  above  the  stream  which 
was  very  deep  and  dangerous  at  this  point. 

A  groan  went  up  from  all  except  Juliet  Delmar,  whose 
black  eyes  glittered  in  triumph. 

"Quick!  Quick,  Howard.  Get  the  boat,"  cried  Willis, 
bounding  forward  with  all  the  speed  of  a  trained  runner. 

Howard  needed  no  further  explanation.  These  two  always 
understood  and  worked  together  when  Daisy  Zorlange  required 
protection.  He  sprang  into  a  canoe,  cut  it  adrift,  and  was  pad- 
dling toward  the  bridge  in  less  time  than  it  has  taken  to  relate 
the  circumstance. 

The  wind  had  risen  suddenly  to  a  perfect  gale,  and  it  was 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  181 

clear  to  the  horrified  spectators  that  Daisy  was  becoming  dizzy 
and  frightened  as  well. 

Willis  simply  flew,  leaving  the  others  to  shout  encourage- 
ment, saving  his  own  wind  for  the  terrible  effort  before  him. 
When  he  reached  the  height  he  discovered  a  danger  threatening 
the  girl  that  was  not  dreamed  of  by  the  others.  The  afternoon 
express  train  was  nearing  the  curve  at  the  farthest  end  of  the 
bridge  at  full  speed,  and  just  as  he  sprang  upon  the  first  tie 
of  the  bridge  the  whistle  sounded.  Shrieks  and  groans  resounded 
from  all  sides.  The  doom  of  the  two  seemed  inevitable. 

"Throw  yourselves  into  the  water,"  called  out  the  rowers, 
for  all  the  boats  had  followed  in  Howard's  wake.  "Throw 
yourselves  into  the  water  and  we  will  save  you."  But  they 
either  did  not  hear  or  paid  no  heed  to  the  warning. 

Daisy  had  caught  sight  of  Willis,  and  felt  instinctively 
that  she  was  saved,  but  the  wind  was  so  strong  that  she  dared 
not  move. 

Happily  she  had  not  heard  the  whistle  or  the  rumbling  of 
the  approaching  train. 

"Now  may  God  help  us  both,"  was  the  prayer  of  Willis, 
as  he  bounded  forward  right  into  the  teeth,  as  it  seemed,  of 
approaching  death. 

And  God  did  help,  for  Willis  reached  the  daring  girl  and 
snatching  her  aside,  stood  with  her  upon  a  narrow  ledge  con- 
structed for  the  bridge  tender's  benefit,  holding  her  skirts  tightly 
around  her,  just  as  the  train  swept  past  them,  its  whistle  shriek- 
ing again  and  again  upon  the  air,  for  the  engineer  had  just 
spied  them.  It  stopped  upon  the  other  side  of  the  bridge,  too 
late  to  have  saved  them  but  for  Willis  St.  Aubyn's  presence 
of  mind.  It  was  long  after  this  ere  Daisy  realized  the  full 
extent  of  that  day's  peril,  for  all  there  tried  mercifully  to 
make  her  forget  it,  and  somehow  there  were  many  who  suspected 
that  the  envious  Juliet  Delmar  had  had  a  hand  in  the  mishap. 

Soon  Daisy,  forgetting  her  fright,  was  deep  in  a  game 
of  Grace  Hoops.  She  was  running  at  full  speed  when  Juliet 
Delmar,  sitting  sullenly  beneath  a  neighboring  tree,  put  out  her 
foot  and  tripped  Daisy  up.  Daisy  fell  heavily,  but  bounded  up 
and  snatching  a  thorny  stick,  she  began  in  a  fury  to  belabor 
Juliet  over  the  head  and  face. 

Miss  Torrendycke  interferred,  and  the  angry  Daisy  turned 


182  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

upon  her.  "It  is  all  thy  fault,"  she  said.  "Thou  encouragest 
her  to  do  these  things  to  me.  Oh,  thou  wanst  her  to  kill  me, 
I  do  believe.  She  dared  me  to  go  upon  that  bridge  only  that 
I  might  be  killed,  and  failing  there,  she  has  now  made  me 
break  my  ankle."  And  then  Daisy  fainted. 

All  was  confusion.  Juliet,  smarting  under  the  blows,  none 
of  which  had  been  dealt  amiss,  declared  that  it  was  only  one 
of  Daisy's  dodges.  But  time  passed  on  and  the  young  girl  lay 
as  if  dead,  and  it  was  thought  best  to  hurry  her  into  town  to 
a  doctor.  So  the  Governor's  carriage  was  called  into  requisition 
for  a  second  time  and  Virginia,  Howard  and  Willis  accompanied 
her  home. 

Daisy  did  not  rally,  and  the  three  discussed  the  situation 
mournfully. 

"Daisy  is  so  generous,"  they  said,  "and  so  tender-hearted 
that  it  could  only  be  a  mean  spirited  jealousy  that  would  hold 
spite  against  one  of  so  sweet  a  temper." 

"We  seem  to  be  the  only  true  friends  she  has,"  said  Vir- 
ginia. 

"And  we  will  stand  by  her  to  the  last,"  they  all  declared. 

It  was  many  weeks  ere  Daisy  was  able  to  walk  about.  In 
the  meantime  her  birthday  occurred,  and  her  classmates  sur- 
prised her  by  bringing  many  little  offerings.  Daisy,  always 
grateful  for  any  little  attention  from  her  mates,  was  delighted 
with  her  gifts.  That  which  was  meant  by  all  to  be  merely  a 
call  of  congratulation  was  prolonged  and  converted  into  a  reg- 
ular birthday  fete  at  her  own  and  her  father's  request,  and 
notes  were  sent  out  to  tell  the  parents  of  all  Daisy's  classmates 
that  they  were  to  spend  both  afternoon  and  evening  with  their 
invalid  friend. 

Each  had  brought  some  trifling  present,  a  book,  a  bouquet, 
a  new  song  or  piece  of  instrumental  music,  and  there  was  a 
handsome  piece  or  two  of  jewelry,  the  gifts  of  Howard  and 
Willis,  who,  as  the  rest  declared,  "Could  well  afford  it."  Then 
there  was  a  new  piano,  the  gift  of  Emil  Zorlange,  himself. 

Daisy  received  her  guests,  bolstered  up  in  a  large  easy 
chair,  her  broken  foot  resting  upon  another  chair.  All  were 
warned  not  jolt  or  jar  this,  lest  permanent  injury  might  be 
the  result,  and  Virginia,  Howard  and  Willis  surrounded  her, 
as  in  duty  bound  lest  further  mischief  should  befall  their  idol. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  183 

Juliet  Delmar  came  very  late,  and  tossing  a  bunch  of 
scarlet  cypress  flowers  into  Daisy's  lap  she  muttered  some  com- 
monplace congratulations  and  moved  toward  one  of  the  windows. 
Here  she  stood  for  some  time  watching  enviously  the  group 
around  the  invalid. 

"How  glad  you  must  be,  Juliet,"  said  one,  "that  Daisy 
was  not  lamed  for  life  by  that  fall  you  gave  her.  Only  think, 
the  doctor  says  that  she  will  be  able  to  dance  as  beautifully  as 
ever,  that  is,  if  she  is  very  careful  not  to  move  her  foot.  And, ' ' 
they  added  in  a  lowered  tone:  "Isn't  it  just  dreadful?  He 
says  that  any  sudden  jar  may  undo  all  his  work,  and  Daisy 
become  a  cripple." 

Perhaps  he  caught  the  malicious  gleam  in  Juliet's  eyes  or 
it  may  have  been  instinctive,  but  Howard  Gould,  unseen  by 
the  others,  raised  Daisy's  injured  foot  from  its  resting-place 
and  placed  it  gently  upon  his  knees,  several  inches  above  the 
chair  upon  which  it  had  before  rested. 

Virginia  had  been  called  away,  and  Willis  had  turned  to 
speak  to  some  one  in  his  rear,  at  which  juncture  he  caught  a 
look  of  terror  in  Daisy's  eyes  as  they  rested  as  if  charmed 
upon  Juliet's  face.  Willis  turned  swiftly  but  not  in  time  to 
prevent  Juliet  Delmar  from  deliberately  kicking  the  chair  ap- 
parently from  beneath  Daisy's  foot. 

Daisy,  with  a  piteous  little  cry,  fainted,  while  Willis  St. 
Aubyn,  with  white,  set  face,  placed  his  hands  upon  Juliet's 
shoulders  and  forced  her  before  him  from  the  room  and  out 
of  the  house. 

' '  The  She-Devil !  I  suppose  that  she  has  finished  her  work 
and  that  Daisy  is  crippled  for  life." 

"Not  so  bad  as  that,"  was  the  reply  of  Howard,  and  he 
asked  Willis  to  replace  the  chair,  and  together  they  replaced 
the  injured  foot  upon  it. 

When  Daisy  recovered  consciousness  her  first  words  were: 
"Where  is  Juliet  Delmar?"  and  when  told  that  she  was  safe 
from  that  young  lady's  hands,  she  fell  to  blaming  herself  bit- 
terly for  her  own  unjust  suspicions,  and  begged  that  Juliet  be 
recalled.  Then  she  penned  a  pathetic  little  note,  and  Willis 
was  sent  to  deliver  it.  He  returned  to  say  that  Juliet  was  out, 
but  that  the  note  would  be  delivered  to  her  as  soon  as  she 
returned.  But  Daisy  fretted  and  fretted  to  such  an  extent 


184  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

that  a  second  messenger  was  dispatched  to  Juliet's  home.  This 
messenger  was  told  that  Juliet  had  sent  home  word  that  she 
would  not  return  until  very  late,  having  had  an  invitation  to 
spend  the  evening  with  a  friend.  There  was  no  help  for  it, 
still  Daisy  fretted,  seeming  to  miss  Juliet  more  and  more  from 
the  school-circle,  and  when  the  new  songs  were  practiced  in 
the  evening,  she  declared  that  they  would  have  been  perfect 
had  Juliet  been  there  to  play  the  accompaniments. 

Every  one  wondered,  when  the  truth  was  known,  and  said 
that  Daisy  must  have  had  a  prescience  of  what  was  befalling 
her  schoolmate.  As  for  Juliet  Delmar,  when  the  door  of  the  Zor- 
lange  house  had  been  closed  upon  her,  she  was  seen  no  more  by 
her  friends  and  companions.  She  had,  as  it  were,  disappeared 
from  off  the  face  of  the  earth.  Yet  despite  this  untoward  cir- 
cumstance they  spent  a  delightful  evening,  with  music  and 
song  and  story-telling,  in  which  they  were  joined  by  Emil  Zor- 
lange,  whose  love  for  his  little  daughter  made  him  interested 
in  her  young  associates,  and  all  were  surprised  when  Janet 
appeared  and  bore  her  young  mistress  off  to  bed. 


A  MUSICAL   MYSTERY  185 

CANTO  TWENTIETH. 
"WHEN  ROBERT  WENT  A 'WOOING." 

Daisy  Zorlange's  schoolmates  were  not  her  only  intimates. 
There  was  not  only  her  school  set,  but  the  neighborhood  set, 
among  which  she  was  most  popular. 

Next  beyond  the  Zorlanges,  across  an  alley  way,  lived  the 
Sedgewicks.  Nell  Sedgewick  was  one  of  Daisy's  particular 
cronies.  Running  in  one  day,  Daisy  found  her  in  tears. 

"Why,  what  is  the  matter,  Nell?"  she  asked,  "Is  it  because 
Willie  Brown  has  gone  away?  Take  heart,  my  dear,  I  will  see 
that  thou  hast  another  sweetheart.  Thou  mayst  have  thy  choice 
among  mine  own." 

"It  is  about  Willie.  Ma  says  that  we  ought  to  be  ashamed 
of  ourselves  to  kiss  a  boy.  And  oh,  she  did  say  so  many  nasty 
things.  Now,  you  know  you  did,  Ma." 

"Oh,"  said  Daisy,  reflectively,  "so  it  was  wrong  to  kiss 
Willie  Brown  good  bye,  was  it?  Now  I  would  just  like  to  know 
why?"  Thereupon  Mrs.  Sedgewick  began  a  long  tirade,  ending 
with  the  statement  that  she  had  never  kissed  one  of  the  other 
sex  when  she  was  a  girl. 

"Why,"  questioned  Daisy  with  eager  curiosity,  "how  did 
Mr.  Sedgewick  court  thee?" 

"I  never  permitted  him  to  come  nearer  to  me  than  across 
the  room,"  declared  the  lady  unwarily. 

This  was  enough  for  the  mischievous  girls.  Daisy  tipped 
the  wink  to  Nell  and  the  two  stationed  themselves  upon  opposite 
sides  of  the  room.  They  then  began  a  scene  that  beggars  descrip- 
tion. 

"Good  evening,  Miss  Nancy,"  was  the  greeting  of  Nell,  as 
Robert  Sedgewick. 

"Good  evening,  Robert." 

Then  Daisy,  with  an  absurd  assumption  of  dignity  in  her 
part  of  Miss  Nancy,  waved  the  impetuous  Robert  backward, 
saying  coldly:  "No  nearer,  I  beg  of  thee,"  and  the  two  ex- 
changed a  ceremonious  hand-shake  with  the  width  of  the  room 


186  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

between  them,  to  the  unbounded  delight  of  Anna  and  Charlie 
Sedgewick  and  the  unbounded  discomfiture  of  Miss  Nancy  her- 
self, now  Mrs.  Sedgewick. 

Then  across  the  room  there  followed  a  most  commonplace 
conversation,  or  at  least  it  would  have  been  most  commonplace, 
but  for  the  ludicrous  pantomime  with  which  it  was  interspersed. 

Daisy  was  a  born  actress,  and  under  her  lead,  Nell  was 
scarcely  her  inferior. 

When  Daisy  caught  on  to  the  very  earliest  opportunity,  and 
said  with  a  comical  mingling  of  the  sentimental,  love-sick  maiden 
with  the  brisk,  business-like  air  of  the  spinster-in-search-of-a-hus- 
band:  "Robert,  I  am  too  old  a  bird  to  be  caught  with  chaff. 
Have  thy  words  a  meaning?"  she  literally  "brought  down  the 
house." 

As  soon  as  the  ci-devant  Robert  could  recover  her  own 
breath  she  replied:  "Miss  Nancy,  they  have.  I  would  thee 
wed." 

Miss  Nancy  simpered,  at  which  the  house  was  again 
' '  floored. ' ' 

The  manner  in  which  this  scene  was  conducted  to  a  success- 
ful issue  by  the  two  mischievous  girls  was  highly  entertaining 
and  was  received  with  repeated  and  rapturous  applause  from  the 
small  but  select  audience.  And  when  Daisy,  combining  shrewd 
business  ability  and  elderly  spinster  dignity,  veiled  under  a  thin 
coating  of  maidenly  modesty,  permitted  the  impetuous  Robert 
to  call  her  his  "Own,"  with  unnecessary  vehemence,  and  re- 
sponded to  his:  "I  thee  embrace,"  by  clawing  the  empty  air 
with  extreme  tenderness  and  bestowing  upon  it  resounding 
smacks,  the  audience  was  "floored"  for  the  third  time. 

"Oh!  oh!"  shrieked  Anna,  sinking  into  a  chair  and  rock- 
ing herself  from  side  to  side. 

"Oh!  oh!  oh!"  yelled  Charlie,  rolling  upon  the  floor  in  a 
paroxysm  of  laughter. 

' '  Oh-oh  !  Oh-oh ! ' '  howled  Mrs.  Sedgewick  in  chorus  and  in 
a  perfect  frenzy  of  tearful  wrath. 

And  "Oh!"  sounded  a  deep  bass  voice,  and  there  upon  the 
threshold  appeared  the  real  Robert,  who  demanded  an  explana- 
tion of  this  screaming  farce.  Daisy  and  Nell  never  flinched,  but 
continued  their  amorous  pantomime  with  renewed  zest,  choosing 


A  MUSICAL   MYSTERY  187 

to  consider  the  repeated  exclamations  as  an  encore.  The  audience 
was  simply  incapable  of  speech,  so  the  explanation  demanded 
by  Mr.  Sedgewick  had  perforce  to  be  given  by  Mrs.  Sedgewick, 
who  was  literally  beside  herself  with  anger,  between  her  snivels 
and  sobs  and  snarls,  mingled  with  loud  complaints  of  the  out- 
rages to  which  she  had  been  subjected  by  her  disrespectful  off- 
spring under  the  lead  of  that  miscreant,  Daisy  Zorlange. 

Robert  Sedgewick  was  a  grave  and  reserved  man  who  was 
seldom  seen  to  smile,  but  when  he  understood  the  true  meaning 
of  the  ridiculous  scene  and  its  cause,  he  added  his  mite  to  the 
good  lady's  discomfiture  by  laughter  loud  and  long  and  by  say- 
ing: "Served  you  right,  Mrs.  Sedgewick.  How  absurd  of  you 
to  put  such  nonsense  into  these  little  girls'  heads!  What  poss- 
ible harm  could  there  be  in  their  kissing  their  playmate  'good 
bye?'  "  and  this  was  all  the  consolation  Miss  Nancy  received 
from  him. 

"But  Willie  is  a  boy,"  exclaimed  the  girls  in  pretended 
horror,  at  which  Mr.  Sedgewick  laughed  again. 

"And,"  broke  in  Charlie,  pertly,  "even  you,  Pa,  must  ac- 
knowledge there  is  some  slight  difference  between  a  girl  and  a 
boy." 

"That's  just  what  Mrs.  Sedgewick  said,"  and  Daisy  nodded 
approval. 

"Daisy,"  said  Anna  in  a  stage  aside,  "Daisy,  I  congratulate 
you  upon  your  unparalleled  success  as  an  actress.  I  never  be- 
fore in  all  my  life,  heard  Pa  laugh  aloud. ' ' 

"Now,  Robert,"  coaxed  Daisy,  "confess.  Didst  not  woo 
and  win  the  proper  Miss  Nancy  after  the  same  improper  fashion 
that  is  in  vogue  at  the  present  time,  and  when  she  made  thee 
happy  by  saying  'yes,"  didst  not  seal  thy  engagement  with  the 
orthodox,  altho'  highly  improper  kiss  and  embrace?" 

"Sure,"  said  Mr.  Sedgewick,  entering  into  the  spirit  of  the 
play.  "It  was  something  after  this  manner,"  and  he  threw  his 
arms  around  the  form  of  his  scolding  spouse  and  imprinted  a 
resounding  kiss  upon  her  reluctant  lips. 

"Ye-o-u-w,"  was  the  response. 

Every  one  laughed  except  Daisy,  who  said  flatly:  "That's 
another.  Not  content  with  thy  prevaracation  which  betrayed  thy 
innocent  daughter  Nell  and  me  into  '  actin '  up '  in  that  shameless 
manner,  of  which  thou  hast  good  reason  to  complain,  thou  must 


188  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

now  needs  make  believe  thou  received  thy  loving  Robert's  tender 
embraces  like  a  squalling,  spiteful  old  cat,  such  as  must  have 
made  even  the  most  doting  love  run  away.  No,  Miss  Nancy,  even 
thy  'betrotted'  would  have  taken  to  his  heels,  dooming  thee  to 
everlasting  spinsterhood.  Then" — this  with  a  pathetic  wail, 
"there  would  have  been  no  Anna,  no  Nell,  no  Charlie,  no  fun— no 

NOTHIN'! Now  Ma-a-o-u,"  began  Daisy,  severely,  by  a 

queer  little  twist  of  her  mouth  making  the  long-drawn-out  ap- 
pellation such  a  successful  cross  between  the  rather  broad  title  of 
"Ma"  by  which  the  Sedgewick  children  were  wont  to  address 
their  mother,  and  the  mew  of  a  spiteful  kitten,  that  the  remain- 
der of  her  reproof  was  drowned  amid  the  shouts  of  laughter  with 
which  it  was  received,  none  so  loud  as  that  of  the  sober  Mr. 
Sedgewick. 

' '  Te-he ! ' '  From  Mrs.  Sedgewick,  who  at  last  was  waking  up 
to  the  fun  of  the  situation. 

If  that  were  a  laugh,  the  look  Daisy  gave  her  compelled  her 
to  strangle  it  at  its  birth,  it  said  so  plainly:  "This  is  a  serious 
matter  for  thee.  There's  no  fun  in  it  for  thee,  Miss  Nancy,  not 
one  bit!" 

"Now  Pa-o-u-w —  "  began  Daisy,  and  with  the  same  con- 
tortion of  her  saucy  lips  she  blended  the  title  bestowed  upon 
him  by  his  young  hopefuls  with  a  clever  imitation  of  Miss 
Nancy's  cat-like  squall.  The  remainder  of  her  remonstrance  was 
again  lost  in  the  laughter  this  excited. 

"Te-he."  from  Mrs.  Sedgewick. 

Again  that  laugh  was  nipped  in  the  bud  by  a  glare  from 
Daisy,  which  said  plainly :  "I  repeat,  this  is  no  laughing  mat- 
ter. Thou  hast  chosen  the  role  of  Injured  Innocence,  now  is  the 
time  for  thee  to  cry/' 

There  was  such  alacrity  displayed  in  her  obedience  to 
Daisy's  unspoken  command  to  weep,  and  such  a  howl  set  up  by 
their  badgered  parent  that  the  undutiful  Sedgewicks  laughed 
again  and  the  undutiful  husband  joined  his  voice  to  theirs.  Only 
Daisy 's  face  was  without  a  smile.  She  mused  aloud  to  their  fur- 
ther mystification :  "Now  I  wonder,  was  that  going  to  be  a  laugh, 
or  was  it  going  to  be  a  sneeze?" 

This  by-play  was  interrupted  by  Anna  who  called  out: 
"Why,  there  goes  Willie  Brown  now.  Girls ." 

"0,  then  we  must  have  those  kisses  back,  it  will  never  do 


A  MUSICAL   MYSTERY  189 

to  let  him  carry  them  away  with  him.  Why  who  knows  to  what 
awful  use  he  may  put  them?  He  may  in  his  ignorance  even 
give  them  to  another  BOY.  Come  Nell,  if  thou  hast  any  sense 
of  shame  at  the  distress  which  our  disgraceful  conduct  has  in- 
flicted upon  thy  'Ma-a-u-w'  thou  wilt  take  back  those  kisses  by 
force  if  need  be.  Come  Kits !"  and  away  Daisy  flew,  with  Nell, 
Anna,  and  Charlie  at  her  heels,  while  Mr.  Sedgewick  hastened 
to  join  them  and  Mrs.  Sedgewick  followed  slowly,  sniveling  as 
she  went,  in  fear  lest  that  awful  look  upon  Daisy's  face  might 
forbid  her  presence  among  the  fun-loving  crew.  The  troup 
pounced  down  upon  the  unsuspecting  Willie,  just  as  he  was  about 
to  enter  the  carriage  in  which  his  mother  awaited  him,  and, 
overwhelming  him  with  a  perfect  torrent  of  invective  and  abuse, 
proceeded  to  take  back  the  kisses  of  farewell  they  had  given  him. 
That  unhappy  youth  was  so  dazed  and  bewildered  by  the  sudden 
onslaught  that  he  offered  no  resistance  either  by  word  or  ac- 
tion. 

''Girls,  girls!"  expostulated  his  laughing  mother,  "remem- 
ber that  he  is  the  only  son  of  his  mother  who  is  a  widow,  and 
spare  him  to  me  alive  at  least." 

Daisy's  only  response  was:  "I  remember  now  that  I  gave 
him  two  kisses,"  and  she  proceeded  to  wrench  the  second  kiss 
from  the  lips  of  the  boy  with  the  vim  she  would  have  used  in 
extracting  a  refractory  tooth,  while  Nell,  in  duty  bound,  followed 
suit. 

"I've  had  no  chance  yet  to  kiss  Willie  goodbye,  so  I'll  kiss 
him  now,"  and  this  Anna  did. 

"I  never  kissed  him  at  all,  'cause  he's  a  BOY,"  Charlie 
simpered,  "but  I  want  to,  oh  I  want  to  so  bad!"  whereupon  he 
hugged  and  kissed  the  limp  and  nerveless  youth  with  such  lov- 
ing zest  that  it  drew  forth  a  round  of  applause  from  the  gather- 
ing crowd. 

"T-he,"  from  Mrs.  Sedgewick. 

Daisy  turned  upon  her  a  glance  of  sharp  reproof.  The  look 
repeated  the  warning  threat :  "Do  not  dare  to  laugh.  This  is  no 
laughing  matter  for  thee,"  and  once  more  Mrs.  Sedgewick 's 
laugh  died  "a  bornin', "  and  was  buried  away  under  an  aval- 
anche of  sobs  and  tears. 

"What's  the  matter  with  that  woman?"  questioned  some 
one  among  the  crowd. 


190  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

"She  is  trying  to  be  funny,"  said  Daisy  with  a  tone  of 
severest  reproof,  which  was  interpreted  into  a  threat  by  Mrs. 
Sedgewick,  whose  tears  flowed  afresh. 

"And  Daisy  won't  let  her,"  added  Nell. 

But  Daisy  paid  no  further  heed.  She  was  looking  upon  the 
forlorn  and  crestfallen  Willie  Brown. 

"Yes,"  she  said  reflectively,  "I  certainly  did  give  him 
three  kisses,"  and  she  prepared  for  a  fresh  attack. 

"No  you  don't,"  yelled  the  youth,  his  terror  at  length  giv- 
ing to  him  both  voice  and  action.  "No  you  don't!"  and  he  fled 
toward  the  waiting  carriage,  into  which  he  sprang,  and  slunk 
into  a  seat  beside  his  laughing  mother,  who  congratulated  him 
upon  the  fact  that  he  had  escaped  with  his  life.  The  coachman 
promptly  slammed  the  door,  mounted  his  box  and  drove  rapidly 
away  with  Daisy's  intended  prey. 

"Why,  he's  run  away!"  said  Daisy,  with  an  air  of  innocent 
surprise. 

"He  was  in  a  hurry  to  catch  the  train,"  drawled  Anna. 

"I  don't  think  that  boy  will  ever  let  any  more  girls  kiss 
him  '  good  bye, '  if  he  does,  he  '11  wish  he  hadn  't, ' '  Daisy  added. 

"I  guess,"  commented  farmer  Tucker,  as  he  remounted  his 
load  of  "spuds,"  "I  rayther  guess  he  wishes  he  hedn't  neouw." 

"  'Neouw,'  and  'Ma-o-u-w,'  and  'Pa-a-u-w,'  and 
'ye-o-u-w, '  "  mimiced  Charlie. 

"First  you  know,  we'll  all  be  talking  Cat." 

"TE-HE!"  from  Mrs.  Sedgewick,  who  turned  in  terror  to- 
ward Daisy.  Now  this  was  clearly  a  laugh,  but  Daisy  chose  to 
hear  only  a  sneeze,  and  instead  of  rebuking  Miss  Nancy  for  find- 
ing any  fun  in  the  affair,  she  literally  "beamed"  upon  the  of- 
fender, and  quoted  with  the  most  absurd  impressement :  "I 
thought  I'd  die  a  laughin'— to  hear  the  cat  sneeze!"  and  turning 
she  looked  straight  into  the  grave  eyes  of  Emili  Zorlange,  who 
was  regarding  her  with  a  satirical  smile  as  he  passed  the  laugh- 
ing group  of  which  she  formed  the  center,  with  his  customary 
slow  and  dignified  tread,  his  head  bent  in  thought,  and,  as  was 
his  wont,  his  hands  clasped  behind  his  back  under  the  flaps  of 
his  coat. 

Nothing  daunted,  his  mad-cap  daughter  joined  him  at  once, 
imitating  him  as  nearly  as  possible  by  timing  her  dancing  feet 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTEBY  191 

to  his  staid  gait,  tilting  up  her  skirts  at  the  back  that  they  might 
fall  over  her  clasped  hands,  and  puckering  her  brow  into  a 
thoughtful  frown  as  she,  too,  bent  her  head.  Then  she  glanced 
up  sideways  into  his  grave  face,  and  said  with  an  air  of  contri- 
tion: "Fayther,  I  fear  me  I  have  been  very  indiscreet.  I've 
kissed  a  BOY!" 

The  gravity  of  Emil  Zorlange  was  completely  upset  by  the 
relishing  smack  with  which  she  climaxed  her  confession,  and  he 
laughed  heartily.  It  brought  before  him  as  in  a  flash  the  whole 
of  the  laughable  scene,  the  hapless  youth,  standing  rooted  to  the 
spot,  the  picture  of  abject  terror,  his  hands  hanging  by  his  sides, 
his  knees  knocking  together,  his  jaw  dropped— the  central  figure 
of  the  group ;  the  teazing  youngsters ;  the  hilarious  Mr.  Sedge- 
wick  and  his  doleful  spouse;  the  appreciative  crowd  of  onlook- 
ers ;  the  broken  spell ,  the  ignominious  retreat. 

The  two  were  entering  their  own  doorway  now,  when  Emil 
Zorlange,  mirthful  still,  released  his  right  hand  from  beneath  his 
coat-tails  and  laid  it  gently  upon  the  young  girl's  head  as  he 
said :  "My  daughter,  thou  art  a  veritable  imp  of  mischief.  I 
must  have  thee  pictured  as  'Pandora.'  ' 

And  Daisy,  not  to  be  out-done,  released  her  own  left  hand 
from  beneath  her  tilted  skirts  and,  tip-toing,  laid  it  upon  her 
father's  head  with  a  gravity  that  rebuked  the  levity  of  her  sire, 
and,  with  an  expression  of  angelic  sweetness  upon  her  face  that 
would  have  ruined  her  picture  as  Pandora,  said:  "Fayther, 
thy  will,  not  mine,  be  done." 

When  the  door  closed  upon  Emil  Zorlange  and  the  fun-lov- 
ing Daisy,  the  Sedgewicks  trooped  noisily  back  into  their  own 
domicile.  Mrs.  Sedgewick  sniveled  a  sort  of  apology  to  Nell, 
but  that  young  lady  checked  her,  saying:  "Be  comforted,  Ma. 
I  never  had  so  much  fun  in  all  my  life.  As  it  is  due  to  that 
nasty  speech  of  yours,  I'd  thank  you  to  make  another  one." 

"Isn't  Daisy  Zorlange  a  perfect  witch?"  questioned  Anna. 

"She  has  bewitched  me.  I  feel  fully  twenty  years  younger, 
than  I  did  an  hour  ago.  Why,  Nancy,  you  must  have  forgot- 
ten— "  and  as  if  to  make  amends  for  the  pranks  played  upon 
her,  and  for  his  own  laughter  that  had  been  excited  by  her  woe- 
begone countenance,  Mr.  Sedgewick  encircled  his  wife's  waist 
with  his  arm  and  kissed  her  full  upon  the  lips. 


192  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

"Neo-u-w-!" 

"Pa-o-u-w!" 

' '  Ma-a-o-u-w ! ' ' 

' '  Yeo-u-w ! ' '  chorused  her  expectant  kittens,  but  Mrs.  Sedge- 
wick  neither  squalled  nor  spat  nor  scratched;  she  only  blushed 
and  simpered  just  as  Miss  Nancy  did  in  that  "good  old  sum- 
mer time"  when  "Robert  went  a 'wooing." 

' '  Purr-r-r-r-r-r ! ' ' 


A  MUSICAL   MYSTERY  193 

CANTO  THE  TWENTY-FIRST. 

"TA,    TA,    TRILOBITZ." 

Daisy's  ankle  was  healed,  and  she  was  at  school  again  more 
full  of  fun  and  frolic  than  ever  if  that  were  possible,  because 
of  her  long  rest  and  her  loneliness. 

Virginia  was  gone.  She  had  been  offered  a  good  position 
as  governess  to  the  two  sons  of  a  wealthy  widower,  and  had  gone, 
as  Daisy  put  it :  "To  marry  the  widower. ' '  For  Daisy  was 
an  inveterate  match-maker  and  scented  matrimony  for  others 
in  the  most  trivial  circumstances,  never  suspecting  that  the  time 
was  near  approaching  for  herself.  Then  she  missed  and  fretted 
over  Juliet  Delmar,  blaming  herself  for  Juliet's  disappearance 
from  their  midst.  "I  think  she  read  my  unkind  thoughts  of 
her  written  in  my  face,"  she  said.  And  there  were  none  but 
thought  better  of  Daisy  Zorlange  because  of  her  grief  over 
Juliet's  loss,  although  they  could  not  understand  it,  for  Juliet 
had  always  betrayed  such  unreasonable  jealousy  of  her.  Daisy 
had  not  cared  for  that  and  had  been  accustomed  to  her  com- 
panionship at  school  for  years,  and  with  that  true  love  of  the 
beautiful  which  knows  no  jealousy,  she  loved  and  admired 
Juliet  above  all  the  others,  and  missed  her  sorely. 

Everything  possible  had  been  done  to  discover  Juliet's 
present  whereabouts,  but  in  vain.  No  trace  of  her  could  ever 
be  found  after  her  abrupt  expulsion  from  the  Zorlange  house, 
upon  that  memorable  birthday. 

As  for  Miss  Torrendycke,  she  and  Daisy  were  upon  even 
worse  terms  than  ever.  The  scholars  themselves  could  not  fail 
to  notice  the  unfair  treatment  which  Daisy  Zorlange  received. 

As  for  that  personage  herself,  she  was  certainly  most  aggra- 
vating. She  evidently  meant  to  have  the  best  of  it  in  this  war 
of  words,  and  declared  in  self-defense  that  ' '  Trilobitz  always  be- 
gan it." 

Miss  Torrendycke  told  her  once  again  to  report  to  the 
Superintendent. 


194  LA  GRAN  QUIBIEA 

' '  I  do  not  know  why  thou  needst  bother  him  with  our  fusses. 
It  does  no  good,"  grumbled  Daisy. 
"Does  he  not  reprimand  you?" 

"Not  often,"  was  the  reply.  "We  generally  have  a  little 
social  chat.  And  sometimes,  not  often,  he  says:  "Now,  my 
little  maid,  whatever  it  is  that  you  have  been  doing  that  is  very 
naughty,  I  hope  that  you  will  not  do  it  again." 

"You  will  carry  a  note  from  me  to  Mr.   Kings! ey,   this 
afternoon  at  the  close  of  school,"  snapped  Miss  Torrendycke. 
"Yes'm,"  replied  Daisy  obediently. 

This  dialogue  occurred  in  the  presence  of  the  assembled 
class. 

That  afternoon  Willis  St.  Aubyn  waited  on  the  Superin- 
tendent with  whom  he  also  was  a  favorite,  and  pleaded  with 
him  in  Daisy's  behalf,  explaining  the  many  things  with  which 
she  had  to  contend  because  of  the  unfair  prejudice  against  her 
of  Miss  Torrendycke.  They  had  a  long  talk  during  which  the 
lad's  secret  leaked  out.  The  elder  man  encouraged  him:  "She 
is  but  a  child.  Wait  patiently  until  she  becomes  a  woman,  and 
success  may  attend  your  efforts  to  win  her." 

While  they  were  yet  talking  Mr.  Hampton,  the  principal 
of  one  of  the  grammar  schools,  entered  and  was  immediately 
followed  by  Daisy  who  presented  a  note  with  the  comment: 
"Some  of  Trilobitz  nastiness,  Mr.  Kingsley." 

Mr.  Kingsley  read  the  note  while  Daisy  exchanged  greetings 
with  her  old  master. 

' '  Daisy, ' '  coaxed  Mr.  Hampton :  ' '  Sing  something  for  me. 
I  see  that  you  are  in  a  temper,  and  that  will  soothe  you  into 
a  fit  state  to  bear  the  reproof  I  see  upon  Mr.  Kingsley 's  lips." 
Nothing  loath,  Daisy  complied,  sitting  herself  down  beside 
him  saying:  "I  am  awfully  tired.  I  really  begin  to  believe 
that  Trilobitz  is  going  to  be  too  much  for  me." 

Then  she  sang  a  low,  sweet  refrain,  which  grew  sadder 
and  sadder  as  it  rose  higher  and  higher,  until  it  seemed  to 
pierce  the  skies  upon  which  the  girl's  eyes  were  fixed. 

And  there  was  an  expression  upon  her  wistful,  longing 
face  that  fascinated  yet  frightened  her  listeners.  Willis  choked 
back  a  rising  sob,  while  Mr.  Hampton  finally  roused  her  to  a 
sense  of  her  surroundings  by  gently  shaking  her  by  the  arm. 
Then  he  questioned  her  curiously. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  195 

"Ah,"  she  answered,  "when  I  sing  like  that  I  seem  to  rise 
above  the  earth  and  float  about  in  space.  Then  I  hear  answering 
voices.  And  they  lead  me  on  higher  and  higher,  until  I  seem 
to  be  at  the  gates  of  Paradise,  and  looking  tErough  I  see  my 
angel  mother's  face,  and  I  hear  my  angel  mother's  voice  calling 
to  me  in  answering  song.  Then  I  feel  that  I  have  but  to  let 
go  my  hold  upon  tliis  earth  (and  it  seems  to  be  such  an  easy 
thing  to  do)  to  join  her  there." 

Willis  sobbed  aloud,  and  there  was  a  strange  tremor  in  Mr. 
Kingsley's  voice  as  he  called  the  girl  to  him,  and  proceeded  to 
question  her  as  to  her  relations  to  Miss  Torrendycke,  whose 
written  accusation  could  not  as  she  said,  be  ignored. 

Daisy  was  herself  again.  "Well,"  she  said,  "it  is  just 
this  way.  Trilobitz  is  always  telling  me  to  be  'good.'  And 
each  morning  I  start  to  school  with  the  full  determination  to 
be  'good.'  But  Miss  Trilobitz  (wThisper  it  low)  acts  as  a  sort 
of  counter-irritant  upon  me,  and  her  very  first  word  (thou 
canst  not  imagine  how  aggravating  that  'Pink  of  Propriety' 
can  be)  sends  all  my  resolutions  to  the  winds  and  we  are  at  it 
again  full  tilt." 

"But,  Miss  Zorlange,  Miss  Torrendycke  makes  very  serious 
charges  against  you,  in  regard  to  your  deportment,"  said  Mr. 
Kingsley,  turning  aside  to  hide  a  smile.  "Charges  which  I 
cannot  ignore.  Do  you  not  think  now  that  you  really  could  be 
good  if  you  were  to  try  very  hard?" 

"Can  the  leopard  change  his  spots?"  demanded  Daisy 
pathetically.  Then  answering  her  own  conundrum  she  said: 
"Why  of  course  he  can.  For  when  he  gets  tired  of  one  spot  he 
can  go  to  another.  And  about  my  being  'good'?  Well,  that 
depends.  Now,  judge,  dost  thou  wish  me  to  be  simply  'good,' 
or  dost  thou  wish  me  to  be  'very  good  indeed'?" 

Willis  St.  Aubyn  smiled  as  the  "judge"  fell  into  the  trap 
set  for  him,  and  said:  "Very,  very  good  indeed." 

"Then  I  promise,"  said  Daisy  with  a  cheerful  nod. 

"Then,  Miss  Zorlange,"  said  the  Superintendent,  "I  put 
you  upon  a  month's  probation.  If  I  find  at  the  end  of  that 
time  that  you  have  not  attempted  to  better  your  behaviour 
while  in  the  schoolroom,  I  tell  you  frankly  that  your  case  must 
come  before  the  School  Board,  and  that  the  result  will  inevitably 
be  disgraceful  expulsion  from  the  school.  I  am  sorry,  but  I 


196  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

cannot  help  it.  The  matter  is  left  in  your  own  hands  for  that 
length  of  time.  But,  Miss  Zorlange, "  he  continued,  "I  have  a 
very  unfavorable  report  from  Miss  Torrendycke  concerning  you. 
Pray  tell  me  now  what  is  your  opinion  of  her?" 

Daisy  threw  herself  into  an  attitude,  and  for  answer  quoted 
an  old  story:  "Wa'al,"  she  drawled  with  nasal  twang,  "set 
her  alongside  of  Judas  Iscariot,  Jedge,  and  she  looms  up  mid- 
dlin'  fa'r,  but  place  her  along  de  side  of  sich  men  as  you  an' 
me  is,  Jedge,  and  she  do  dwindle  amazin'.  She  do  for  a  fac'." 
Then  she  reiterated  her  promise  to  be  "  Very,  very  good,  indeed, ' ' 
but  with  a  serio-comic  expression  which  made  both  Willis  and 
her  quondam  teacher,  Mr.  Hampton,  who  knew  some  of  her 
tricks  of  old,  smile,  and  excited  some  curiosity  in  the  mind  of 
Mr."  Kingsley  who  could  not  well  understand  why  she  should 
consider  it  so  much  easier  to  be  'very,  very  good  indeed'  than  to 
be  simply  "good."  But  before  he  could  question  her  farther, 
the  voice  of  Miss  Torrendycke  was  heard  in  the  hall,  and  Daisy, 
after  thanking  him,  swept  a  demure  curtsey  to  all  and  left  the 
room,  readily  assuming  the  abject  mien  of  one  who  had  just  re- 
ceived a  merited  chastisement. 

The  door  of  the  superintendent's  room  stood  open.  The  oc- 
cupants could  see  the  entire  length  of  the  long,  broad  ha'J. 

The  look  of  exultation  upon  Miss  Torrendycke 's  face  at  the 
sight  of  Daisy's  woe-begone  countenance  was  so  unmistakable 
that  Willis  cried:  "The  spiteful  old  cat;"  and  Mr.  Kingsley 
echoed  his  sentiments  with  a  most  emphatic :  ' '  Humph ! ' ' 

"So,  Miss  Zorlange,"  cried  Miss  Torrendycke,  in  spite- 
ful triumph,  "so  you  found  that  your  teacher's  written  report 
of  your  disgraceful  conduct  has  had  more  weight  than  your  own 
misrepresentaions.  You  have  been  expelled  from  the  school  to 
which  you  have  become  a  disgrace." 

"Not  so,"  was  the  cheerful  response.  "My  sadness  is  due  to 
the  workings  of  my  contrite  heart.  Mr.  Kingsley  always  favors 
me  in  these  little  differences  of  ours,  as  thou  knowest,"  she  said 
in  a  most  exasperating  tone.  ' '  He  has  left  it  all  to  me.  I  can  go  or 
stay  as  I  like.  I  felt  sure  that  he  would  defend  me  against  thy 
unjust  actions  towards  me.  Ta-ta,  Trilobitz,"  and  Daisy  waltzed 
down  the  hallway  and  finished  with  a  ' '  whisk. ' ' 

"Astride  the  balustrade,  I'll  wager  my  year's  unpaid  sal- 
ary," ejaculated  Mr.  Kingsley. 


A  MUSICAL   MYSTERY  197 

The  horror  and  disgust  expressed  upon  Miss  Torrendycke 's 
countenance  was  more  than  human  nature  could  bear  unmoved 
and  the  three  spectators  were  convulsed  with  laughter,  that  had 
to  be  suppressed  even  at  the  risk  of  choking.  The  owl-like  gravity 
that  sat  upon  their  countenances  would  have  enlightened  a  less 
obtuse  person  than  Miss  Torrendycke,  and  warned  them  that 
something  was  amiss.  That  irate  female,  as  soon  as  she  could 
recover  breath,  so  to  speak,  bore  down  upon  them  with  a  demand 
for  an  explanation  from  the  superintendent. 

"What  has  the  girl  done  now?"  inquired  Mr.  Kingsley,  for 
he  was  possesed  of  a  mischievous  desire  to  make  the  proper  Miss 
Torrendycke  speak  "right  out." 

And  forgetting  that  modesty  forbade  the  mention  of  the 
deed,  Miss  Torrendycke  reported:  "Straddled  the  balustrade 
like  the  hoyden  that  she  is,  and  to  my  face  called  me  'Trilo- 
bitz'." 

There  was  a  smothered  laugh,  which  Miss  Torrendycke  was 
too  angry  to  heed. 

"I  demand  that  this  girl  be  expelled  from  the  school.  I 
cannot  endure  her  impudence  longer." 

' '  Not  so  fast,  Miss  Torrendycke, ' '  said  Mr.  Kingsley,  serious- 
ly. "It  exceeds  my  power,  as  you  know,  to  expell  a  refractory 
pupil  from  the  school.  That  authority  is  vested  in  the  assembled 
school  board  alone.  I  do  not  find  this,  as  yet,  at  least,  a  matter 
to  be  brought  before  them.  I  have  put  Miss  Zorlange  upon  pro- 
bation for  one  month.  She  has  promised  to  be  "very,  very  good 
indeed,'  "  he  said,  rather  doubtfully,  as  he  caught  sight  of  the 
amused  smiles  upon  the  faces  of  Mr.  Hampton  and  Willis  St. 
Aubyn.  Then  he  added  sternly:  "Miss  Torrendycke,  I  cannot 
but  think  that  you  are  somewhat  to  blame  in  this  matter.  Do 
not  forget  that  this  is  a  motherless  child,  and  that  you  are  en- 
trusted with  the  development  of  her  character.  I  think  that  if 
you  are  unable  to  deal  with  her  or  others  of  your  pupils  and 
control  their  actions  at  least  in  the  schoolroom,  you  are  unfitted 
for  the  responsible  position  you  now  hold.  I  request  that  you 
put  no  stumbling  block  in  the  way  of  Miss  Zorlange 's  fulfillment 
of  her  promise  of  good  behavior  during  the  next  month  under 
penalty  of  your  own  dismissal  from  the  school." 

This  was  putting  things  upon  a  new  business  basis,  and  Miss 
Torrendycke  felt  that  she  was  treading  upon  unsafe  ground.. 


198  LA  GRAN  QUIBIKA 

It  was  extremely  aggravating  to  the  old  maid  to  be  called 
upon  to  play  mother  to  an  unconquerable  imp  of  mischief  like 
Daisy  Zorlange,  but  she  was  not  at  heart  illy  disposed,  and  the 
appeal  touched  her  in  spite  of  herself.  So  with  ladylike  alacrity 
she  acquiesced,  and  thus  the  matter  was  settled  pro  tern. 

Willis  arose  with  a  heavy  sigh  to  follow  Miss  Torrendycke 
from  the  room. 

"Never  fear,  my  lad,"  said  the  superintendent,  encourag- 
ingly. "She  is  but  a  child  as  yet,  a  butterfly,  a  singing  bird,  but 
if  I  mistake  not  there  will  one  day  awaken  in  her  bosom  as  true 
and  womanly  a  heart  as  has  ever  beaten.  Take  couarge,  and  be 
on  hand  when  the  awakening  occurs,  and  you  will  win  it  or  I  am 
much  mistaken. ' ' 

Willis  bowed  his  thanks  and  left  the  room,  not  altogether 
hopeless,  although  Daisy  had  not  vouchsafed  him  a  single  glance 
during  the  entire  interview. 

"But  why  that  boy?"  demanded  Mr.  Hampton,  "why  not 
give  me  your  helping  hand  in  the  winning  of  Daisy  Zorlange? 
I  too  have  fallen  in  love  with  the  witch  ? ' ' 

' '  See  here,  Hampton,  she  is  not  for  you,  but  for  one  of  her 
boy  lovers;  this  one,  I  hope,  for  he  is  good  and  true  and  noble. 
Remember  this.  If  I  hear  of  your  attempting  to  pay  court  to 
this  innocent  child,  I  will  have  you  ousted  from  your  position, 
which  you  must  have  forfeited  in  that  scrape  with  Bella  Vaughn 
but  for  my  interference.  Do  not  neglect  my  warning,  for  I  shall 
keep  strict  watch  over  the  daughter  of  my  old  friend,  Emil  Zor- 
lange, for  whom  I  have  a  very  great  regard." 

And  Mr.  Hampton  retired,  discomfited. 


A    MUSICAL   MYSTERY  199 

CANTO  THE  TWENTY-SECOND. 
"THE  TURTLE-DOVES." 

The  two,  Mr.  Hampton  and  Willis  St.  Aubyn,  had  rightly 
surmised  that  the  efforts  of  Daisy  Zorlange  to  be  "very,  very 
good,  indeed"  would  try  the  patience  of  her  teacher  to  a  far 
greater  extent  than  would  her  careless  disregard  of  the  proprie- 
ties of  schoolroom  etiquette. 

At  the  end  of  the  first  week  of  the  probationary  month,  Miss 
Torrendycke  had  quite  forgotten  her  own  pledges  in  the  affair, 
and  took  every  possible  opportunity  to  correct  the  girl  for  trifling 
offenses  which  would  have  been  overlooked  in  others. 

Daisy  was  made  to  sit  upon  the  platform  for  all  these.  Re- 
ports were  sent  to  the  other  teachers,  and  upon  some  pretense 
or  other  Daisy  was  in  each  recitation  room  made  to  take  her  seat 
upon  their  respective  platforms.  This  went  on  for  two  days. 
Upon  the  third  day,  Daisy  deliberately  ascended  the  rostrum 
of  the  chapel  at  the  morning  exercises,  and  plumped  herself  down 
between  Mr.  Twirl  and  his  own  particular  chair,  to  the  infinite 
amusement  of  the  spectators.  Only  a  quick  movement  of  the 
astonished  principal  prevented  him  from  plunking  himself  into 
her  lap. 

Miss  Zorlange  was  ordered  to  take  her  own  seat. 

"Oh,"  she  said,  in  great  apparent  surprise,  "I  thought 
that  I  was  to  sit  upon  the  platform  for  the  remainder  of  the 
term. ' ' 

Explanations  ensued,  and  Mr.  Twirl,  with  a  lenient  smile, 
which  was,  as  Daisy  afterwards  described  it,  "Just  too  killing," 
told  her  once  more  to  go  to  her  own  seat. 

Now  Daisy's  place  in  chapel  was  upon  the  extreme  row  of 
seats,  she  being  now  a  member  of  the  senior  class,  and,  as  I  have 
said,  the  hall  was  very  large  and  long.  As  she  sauntered  leisurely 
toward  this,  her  movements  were  very  deliberate,  and  Mr.  Twirl, 
who  was  one  of  those  nervous,  hurrying  sort  of  people,  became  im- 
patient and  said:  "Sit  down  where  you  are,  Miss  Zorlange." 


200  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

Daisy  pretended  to  take  the  request  in  a  literal  sense,  made 
a  deprecatory  gesture,  then  hurried  on  a  little  faster. 

"Sit  down  just  where  you  are,  Miss  Zorlange,"  repeated 
Mr.  Twirl. 

The  pantomine  was  repeated  also. 

"Miss  Zorlange,"  thundered  the  irascible  Twirl.  "Do  you 
not  hear  me  ?  Sit  down.  Sit  down  just  where  you  are, ' '  and  Daisy 
did  as  she  was  bidden,  and  sat  herself  down  with  another  dep- 
recatory gesture,  upon  the  floor  in  the  middle  of  the  aisle.  This 
was  done  amid  great  applause  from  the  students. 

"Miss  Zorlange,"  said  Mr.  Twirl,  laughing  in  spite  of  him- 
self, "Miss  Zorlange,  I  did  not  mean  my  command  to  be  taken 
so  literally.  Please  take  the  nearest  unoccupied  chair  that  you 
find,"  he  added,  discreetly. 

Daisy,  doubtless  confused  by  all  this,  did  as  she  was  told, 
and  perhaps  mistaking  her  whereabouts,  veered  to  the  boys'  side 
and  seated  herself  upon  a  vacant  chair  next  to  Moses  'Welton,  the 
most  bashful  youth  in  the  school,  who  blushed,  and  cringed  and 
squirmed  and  tittered,  while  a  second  round  of  applause  greet- 
ed the  action.  And  Daisy,  with  the  air  of  one  who  at  length 
had  found  the  proper  place,  folded  her  hands  in  meek  attention 
to  the  long  delayed  Bible  reading,  in  pretended  innocence  of  her 
laughable  mistake. 

Miss  Torrendycke  was  furious.  For  she  well  knew  that  this 
would  lead  to  an  inquiry  as  to  what  offense  Miss  Zorlange  had 
committed  to  merit  the  punishment  she  had  received,  of  being 
obliged  to  sit  upon  the  platform,  and  the  exposure  of  the  fact 
that  the  punishment  was  greater  than  the  offense. 

"Miss  Zorlange,"  she  commanded,  as  soon  as  the  study  room 
was  reached,  "please  stand  upon  the  platform." 

Now  this  was  the  punishment  above  all  others  which  Daisy 
most  disliked.  She  was  like  a  bird,  a  butterfly,  which  could  wing 
its  way  from  flower  to  flower  the  whole  day  long  without  weary- 
ing, but  when  doomed  to  stand  in  one  place  even  for  a  short 
time,  the  effort  was  beyond  her  strength.  At  the  request  and 
interference  of  her  father,  this  mode  of  punishment  had  long 
been  discontinued,  but  Miss  Torrendycke,  in  her  anger,  quite 
forgot  this  prohibition. 

Daisy's  face  grew  wan  and  white,  but  the  spirit  of  mischief 
was  still  alive  in  her,  and  never  for  one  moment  did  she  lose 
sight  of  her  promise  to  be  "Very,  very  good,  indeed." 


A  MUSICAL.  MYSTERY  201 

Miss  Torrendycke  accidentally  dropped  her  book  and  Daisy, 
intent  upon  returning  good  for  evil,  stooped  to  pick  it  up,  bring- 
ing her  own  head  and  that  of  her  teacher  in  contact  with  a  rous- 
ing thump,  but  capturing  the  volume  from  under  the  very  hand  of 
Miss  Torrendycke,  she  presented  it  with  such  an  air  of  devoted 
sweetness  that  it  was  impossible  to  find  fault  with  her  alacrity 
and  evident  desire  to  please.  She  only  reprimanded  the  laughing 
girls  instead,  for  one  of  the  greatest  features  of  Daisy's  fun  was 
that  gravity  with  which  she  played  her  greatest  pranks,  leaving 
the  others  always  in  the  wrong. 

Daisy  was  about  to  sink  with  fatigue,  however,  when  the 
door  of  the  schoolroom  was  opened  and  Willis  St.  Aubyn  ap- 
peared. Taking  in  the  situation  at  a  glance,  he  paused  upon 
the  threshold. 

When  Daisy  was  ill  or  tired  she  was  like  a  little  child ;  and 
now  she  put  out  her  arms,  wistfully,  to  him.  And  Willis,  with- 
out the  slightest  hesitation,  folded  her  close  to  his  breast,  and 
said  to  Miss  Torrendycke:  "I  just  looked  in  to  ask  myself  to  tea 
with  you  this  evening,  fearing  that  I  might  forget  it  later." 

Daisy  was  shaking  her  fist  as  much  as  to  say:  "Now  thou 
wilt  catch  it. ' '  But  Miss  Torrendycke  wasi  so  pleased  with  the  com- 
pliment that  she  failed  to  notice  the  action.  To  entertain  the 
son  of  the  Governor  at  tea  was  an  honor  for  which  she  was  will- 
ing to  pay  a  handsome  price.  So  when  Willis  said:  "I  think 
you  will  permit  me  to  speak  aside  with  Miss  Zorlange.  I  may  be 
able  to  persuade  her  to  obey  the  rules,  more  readily,"  she  said 
they  might  have  the  use  of  the  dressing  room,  but,  reconsidering, 
she  sent  the  most  objectionable  person  she  could  think  of  to  play 
propriety,  Lotta  Moore. 

Willis  supported  the  half-fainting  Daisy  to  the  dressing 
room  and  they  were  followed  by  Lotta,  who  took  her  stand  at  the 
open  window,  while  Willis  sat  down  and  tried  to  soothe  the  now 
sobbing  Daisy  into  quiet. 

There  was  something  so  pathetic  in  Daisy 's  tired  face  that 
Willis '  heart  yearned  over  her,  and  something  in  the  expression 
of  her  eyes  gave  him  courage  to  say  softly:  "Daisy,  have  you 
forgotten  that  kiss  you  promised  me  long  ago?" 

"Why,"  said  Daisy,  "I  must  have  kissed  thee  a  dozen  times 
at  least  since  then." 

"Ah,  yes.  But  there  were  none  of  them  that  particular 
kiss  that  you  owed  me,  you  know.  And  I  want  that  one. ' ' 


202  IA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

Daisy  smiled  and  put  up  her  rosy  lips. 

"No,"  said  Willis.    "I  want  you  to  kiss  me." 

' '  Oh !    Why,  is  it  not  all  the  same  ? ' ' 

' '  By  no  means. ' ' 

"Well  then,"  said  the  young  girl— then  she  hesitated. 
"Why,  I  declare  I  believe  that  I  do  not  know  how  to  kiss.  I  do 
not  know  that  I  ever  kissed  any  one  of  my  own  accord  unless  it 
may  have  been  a  baby.  Thou  wilt  have  to  teach  me  how. ' ' 

Nothing  loath,  Willis  bent  his  head  over  her  and  imprinted 
a  lingering  kiss  upon  her  lips.  Then  Daisy,  half  raising  herself 
from  his  arms,  imitated  the  action  to  perfection,  but  drew  back 
in  pleased  surprise :  ' '  Why  Willis, ' '  she  exclaimed,  as  one  awak- 
ening from  a  pleasing  dream.  "What  makes  me  so  very — very —  " 

"Happy,"  suggested  Willis  softly,  as  if  afraid  of  frighten- 
ing her. 

"So  very,  very  happy,"  she  repeated,  gazing  brightly  into 
his  eyes. 

"Is  it  that  you  love  me,  Daisy?  Oh,  can  it  be  possible  that 
your  woman's  heart  has  come  to  life  at  last?  Daisy,  darling,  I 
have  waited  so  long  and  so  patiently.  Am  I  to  win  you  at  last? 
Say  that  it  is  true — that  you  really  love  me." 

"I  love  thee. "  The  tones  were  so  fraught  with  sweetness 
that  they  touched  even  the  heart  of  the  callous  Lotta,  who  turned 
and  looked  at  the  two  in  curiosity  and  envy.  It  was  very  beauti- 
ful, this  innocent  love  of  two  young  hearts  that  knew  not  how  to 
dissemble.  There  was  no  affectation  of  shrinking.  There  were 
no  blushes,  only  sweetest  confidence  and  trust  that  knew  no  fear 
or  shame.  And  Lotta  knew  that  this  was  the  one  love  of  a  life- 
time, and  nothing,  nor  no  one,  could  come  between. 

They  talked  a  little,  in  snatches.  After  a  time  Daisy  said 
mischievously,  "But  what  wouldst  thou  have  done  had  I  not 
loved  thee,  Willis?" 

' '  I  cannot  bear  even  to  think  what  my  life  would  be  without 
you,  Daisy.  It  would  be  but  a  barren  waste  to  me.  But,"  he 
asked  in  return,  "Now  that  you  have  learned  to  love  me,  what 
would  you  do  were  you  to  lose  me?" 

"  I  ?  I  should  die, ' '  replied  Daisy.  And  long  after  this  Wil- 
lis remembered  the  tone  of  anguish,  and  the  terrible  look  of  pain 
in  her  eyes. 

"I  think,"  said  a  voice,  "that  you  had  better  be  thinking 
about  wedding  and  not  about  dying,  yet  awhile." 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  203 

"Why  Lotta,  how  good  of  thee  to  be  so  patient  with  us,  and 
so  still."  And  she  held  out  her  hand  to  Lotta  without  moving. 
And  Willis  thanked  her  in  his  turn. 

"Oh,"  she  answered  cheerfully,  "the  next  best  thing  to  be 
being  engaged  one's  self,  is  to  know  that  one's  friends  are  about 
to  be  married.  Do  not  imagine  that  I  have  undergone  all  this 
for  nothing,  I  expect  to  be  one  of  the  bridesmaids,  of  coui-se. ' ' 

Then  Daisy  blushed  for  the  first  time  and  questioned  Wi-:.;is 
by  a  look,  and  he,  nodding  and  smiling  assent,  she  hid  her  face 
upon  his  breast,  but  put  out  a  slender  hand  to  Lotta  as  if  to  ratiiy 
the  promise. 

Then  after  a  while,  she  said:  "Willis,  I  do  not  feel  at  a!! 
like  myself.  I  seem  to  have  changed  somehow.  What  has  hap- 
pened to  me,  anyhow?" 

"You  have  blossomed  into  womanhood,  my  Daisy.  And  oh, 
thank  God,"  he  added  reverently,  "That  it  was  I  to  whom  you 
turned  in  this  hour." 

Daisy,  wondering  still,  got  up  and  viewed  herself  in  the 
small  looking  glass,  before  which  the  school  girls  were  wont  to 
smoothe  their  tumbled  tresses,  and  tie  their  bonnet  strings,  and 
cried  out  in  unfeigned  astonishment:  "Why,  I  am  a  'young 
lady'  now." 

The  others  laughed.  Then  Lotta  questioned:  "Well,  now 
that  you  realize  that  fact,  which  Miss  Torrendycke  has  been  try- 
ing to  convince  you  of  for  the  past  few  years,  tell  us  what  are 
you  going  to  do  about  it?" 

"The  very  first  thing  that  I  shall  do,"  was  the  unexpected 
reply,  "will  be,  "and  Daisy  raised  and  shook  an  admonitory  fin- 
ger at  the  tiny  protruding  feet,  "to  lengthen  my  skirts.  I  seem 
to  be  pretty  much  all  feet  and  I  adore  a  train." 

"Lotta,  you  will  keep  our  secret  for  awhile  at  least,"  pleaded 
Willis. 

Lotta  gave  a  reluctant  promise,  for  the  thing  that  is  dearest 
to  a  schoolgirl's  heart  is  to  be  mixed  up  in  a  love  affair.  "But," 
she  said,  ' '  Daisy 's  face  gives  it  dead  away. ' '  And  this  was  true. 
There  was  a  certain  indefinable  something  in  the  young  girl's 
face,  a  new  dignity  in  her  bearing,  that  marked  the  change  that 
had  been  wrought  in  her  in  these  last  few  moments.  And  there 
were  none  who  did  not  remark  it  when  the  three  made  their  ap- 
pearance, not  without  being  summoned,  in  Miss  Torrendycke 's 
room. 


204  LA   GRAN    QUIBIRA 

"Engaged?"  was  the  oft-repeated  question  put  with  eyes 
and  lips  to  Lotta  Moore,  whose  own  face  was  radiant  And  she 
made  answer  by  pointing  to  Daisy,  herself,  and  saying :  "  I  prom- 
ised not  to  tell,"  so  keeping  to  the  letter  of  her  pledge,  at  least. 

The  girls  were  all  sympathy,  scenting  a  wedding  in  the  near 
future.  And  as  everything  was  settled,  all  jealous  rivalry 
ceased,  and  many  were  the  sly  kisses  and  congratulatory  nods 
bestowed  upon  Daisy  during  that  silent  study  hour. 

The  young  girl  looked  so  lovely  in  her  new  character,  that 
even  the  cold  heart  of  the  "fossil,"  was  thawed,  and  Miss  Tor- 
rendycke  made  up  her  mind  to  "pose"  as  the  chosen  confidante 
of  the  boy  and  girl  lovers. 

But  alas,  and  yet  alas!  Willis  quite  forgot  the  engagement 
he  had  made  to  drink  tea  with  his  teacher  that  evening,  and 
spent  the  time  as  any  one  but  a  "fossil"  might  have  expected, 
with  his  betrothed,  and  so  roused  up  additional  enmity  in  the 
breast  of  that  much-abused  spinster,  against  Daisy,  which  bore 
bitter  fruit  for  her  in  the  near  future;  for,  of  course,  Miss  Tor- 
rendycke  blamed  Daisy  for  Willis'  defection  and  determined  to 
do  everything  in  her  power  to  break  off  the  match. 

She  waited  in  person  upon  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn,  a  proud,  vain, 
and  haughty  woman,  and  prejudiced  her  against  the  unfortunate 
Daisy  to  good  purpose,  as  will  be  seen.  And  after  this  you  may 
be  certain  that  Daisy 's  school  life  was  made  a  burden  to  her. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  205 

CANTO  THE  TWENTY-THIRD. 

"A  LAGGARD  IN  LOVE." 

Howard  Gould  had  not  been  present  at  school  upon  that 
particular  day,  but  strolling  up  town,  he  chanced  to  see  Daisy 
and  Willis  upon  their  homeward  walk.  There  was  no  need  of 
words  to  disclose  their  secret.  It  was  too  plainly  written  upon 
their  faces ;  and,  while  people  turned  to  smile  upon  them  as  they 
passed,  Howard  turned  sick  and  faint  at  sight  of  them  and  reeled 
into  a  drug  store  near  by  to  avoid  meeting  the  pair.  Unconscious 
of  his  presence,  and,  if  the  truth  were  told,  forgetful  at  that 
moment  of  his  very  existence,  they  passed  him  by. 

Willis,  having  been  turned  adrift  by  his  fiance  after  dinner, 
first  bethought  himself  of  his  friend,  and  yearned  for  his  con- 
gratulations and  sympathy.  But  when  he  would  have  gone  to 
Howard's  chamber  with  the  liberty  usually  accorded  to  him,  he 
was  told  that  Howard  wished  to  be  alone.  And  Willis  went 
grumbling  home  to  dream  of  his  newly  found  happiness,  and  to 
abuse  his  friend  for  his  selfish  jealousy. 

"For  he  must  have  heard,"  soliloquized  Willis,  "and  it  is 
awfully  mean  of  him  not  to  off er  me  his  congratulations. ' ' 

But  sitting  alone  in  his  room,  the  question  of  Daisy :  ' '  Hav- 
ing found  me,  what  would  you  do  without  me?"  came  up  to 
him  and  in  weighing  out  the  life  that  would  be  as  nothing  with- 
out her,  he,  remembering  that  Howard  loved  her  with  the  same 
adoration  as  himself,  began  to  pity  him  for  the  loss  which  must 
make  the  life  of  his  friend  barren  of  all  joy  for  the  future.  And 
he  blamed  himself  for  his  selfish  desire  to  have  the  good  wishes  of 
one  bereft  of  this  love. 

"What  a  brute  I  have  been,"  he  exclaimed,  "I  will  go  at 
once  and  console  him. ' ' 

But  before  he  could  rise  to  carry  his  intention  into  effect, 
the  door  opened  and  Howard  himself  came  in.  His  pale  face 
lit  up  with  interest.  "I  could  not  give  you  my  best  wishes  be- 
fore," he  said.  "We  are  all  of  us  a  trifle  selfish,  you  know,  and 
knowing  how  I  loved  Daisy  you  may  well  understand  the  battle 


206  LA.   GRAN    QUD3IBA 

I  had  to  fight  before  I  could  honestly  say  that  I  am  glad  for  her 
sake  that  you  have  won  her." 

"Dear,  good,  unselfish  old  boy.  I  knew  that  I  could  count 
upon  your  good  wishes.  You  are  a  thousand  times  more  worthy, 
and  more  fitted  to  make  her  life  happy,  than  I." 

The  two  youths  talked  long  and  earnestly  that  night,  then 
slept  side  by  side,  the  room  upon  the  other  side  of  Willis'  sitting 
room  had  been  fitted  up  for  Howard 's  occupation  when  he  cared 
to  remain  with  his  friend  at  night,  but  this  night  the  tried  friends 
chose  to  spend  together,  and  together  they  spoke  of  the  sweet 
young  life  that  they  believed  was  now  to  be  saved  from  all  future 
annoyance,  under  the  protection  of  husband  and  friend. 

At  school  Daisy  strove  diligently  to  fulfill  her  promise  to 
Mr.  Kingsley  of  being  ''very,  very  good  indeed, "  and  she  was  to 
intrusively,  so  aggravatingly  "goody-good,"  that  Miss  Torren- 
dycke  wa?  wellnigh  distracted.  But  whatever  she  did,  Daisy  suc- 
ceeded in  scoring  one  against  her. 

Some  time  previous  to  that  memorable  interview  in  Mr. 
Kingsley 's  room,  there  had  b-en  a  new  rule  adopted  regarding 
the  deportment  of  the  students  of  the  school.  Whisper  no;  had 
been  forbidden.  It  was  not  easy,  at  first,  for  them  to  "not, "as 
Daisy  expressed  it.  But  a  frame  enclosing  a  number  of  cards  of 
sprtless  white  which  corresponded  with  the  number  of  scholars 
in  each  room  was  hung  above  the  platform  in  full  view  of  all. 
Then  it  was  stated  that  when  any  transgressed  the  rules  in  this 
respect,  the  white  card  would  be  replaced  by  one  of  blue,  with 
the  name  of  the  transgressor  written  upon  it.  Of  course, 
Daisy  Zorlange  got  the  first  blue  card,  and  equally  "of  course," 
many  others  followed  her  bad  example,  until  the  board  in  the 
frame  was  well  bespeckled.  Then  Daisy  for  the  second  offense 
received  the  first  pink  card.  The  others  followed  suit  as  before. 
Then  Daisy  shocked  and  frightened  even  them  by  claiming  the 
green  card  for  her  own.  Mr.  Kingsley  chanced  to  come  into  the 
room,  and  was  invited  by  Miss  Torrendycke  to  remain  through- 
out the  recitation,  and  he  accordingly  seated  himself  under  the 
aforesaid  frame.  Daisy  well  knew  that  it  was  Miss  Torrendycke 's 
intention  ere  long  to  acquaint  the  superintendent  with  her  dere- 
liction, and,  taking  "time  by  the  forelock,"  as  it  were,  she  suc- 
ceeded in  attracting  his  attention  to  herself,  then  with  an  assump- 
tion of  great  pride  in  her  achievement,  drew  his  notice  to  the 
fact  that  the  only  green  card  in  the  frame  was  her  very  own. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  207 

Mr.  Kingsley  laughed  in  spite  of  himself  at  her  impertin- 
ence; then  murmuring  a  hasty  excuse,  left  the  room.  And  so 
the  daring  girl  escaped  the  look-for  reprimand.  Next  day  Daisy 
''dared"  again  and  broke  the  rules  all  to  smash  by  whispering 
again  and  purposely  getting  caught  in  the  act.  The  penalty 
for  this  was  said  to  be  the  replacing  the  card  of  brilliant  green 
by  one  of  black  and  suspension  from  the  school.  Every  one  was 
in  great  alarm,  for  Daisy  Zorlange,  in  defiance  of  every  display 
of  petty  jealousy,  was  by  all  odds  the  most  popular  girl  in  Miss 
Torrendycke 's  room,  or  indeed,  the  whole  school. 

In  the  meantime,  that  scene  in  the  superintendent's  room 
had  occurred.  And  Miss  Torrendycke,  remembering  it,  resolved 
to  bear  with  her  for  once,  and  instead  of  insisting  upon  Daisy's 
being  sent  home  in  disgrace,  contented  herself  with  detaining 
her  a  few  moments  after  school,  and  drawling  reprovingly: 
' '  Why,  Miss  Zorlange !  Why,  Miss  Zorlange ! '  in  tones  of  the 
gentlest  remonstrance. 


208  LA   GRAN    QUIBIRA 

CANTO  THE  TWENTY-FOURTH. 

"A  NARROW  ESCAPE." 

For  some  reason  a  review  and  examination  had  been  deter- 
mined upon  in  the  middle  of  the  school  term.  The  time  was  at 
hand  and  with  it  the  end  of  Daisy  Zorlange 's  probation.  More 
than  one  uneasy  glance  was  cast  upon  her  as  the  time  approached. 
She  kept  up  the  role  of  "goody-good  girl"  to  perfection.  Mr. 
Kingsley  watched  the  performance  of  the  little  drama  from  afar, 
and  understood  now  the  difference  between  being  simply  ' '  good, ' ' 
and  being  "very,  very  good  indeed."  He  laughed  heartily  at 
some  of  her  escapades,  and  questioned  the  other  young  ladies  of 
Miss  Torrendycke 's  room,  whose  rancor  and  envy  of  the  culprit 
was  too  apparent  to  be  ignored,  why  they  hated  her,  pointing 
out  the  fact  that  she  was  motherless  and  the  youngest  by  at 
least  two  years  among  them  all  and  was  in  danger  of  being  ex- 
pelled from  the  school. 

' '  But  she  is  so  terribly  trying, ' '  they  said  in  excuse.  ' '  She 
is  always  getting  us  into  some  scrape  or  other.  But  school  with- 
out Daisy  Zorlange  would  not  be  school  at  all  to  us,"  was  their 
unanimous  verdict  and  they  all  united  in  begging  for  clemency. 

Well,  there  had  been  another  row  between  the  two.  It 
was  difficult,  as  Lotta  Moore  had  said,  "To  tell  which  was  to 
blame,"  but  Daisy  made  it  appear  that  it  was  all  Miss  Torren- 
dycke's  fault.  Daisy  had  of  late  been  able  to  make  everything 
everybody  else's  fault,  which  was  why  "everybody  else"  was 
grumbling. 

Miss  Torrendycke  had  detained  Daisy  Zorlange  unnecessarily 
and  she  was  very  angry — as  I  have  said,  Daisy  when  not  aroused 
by  anger  until  she  forgot  her  surroundings,  was  extremely  shy  and 
diffident— for  now  she  knew  that  she  must,  because  of  this  deten- 
tion, enter  Mr.  Twirl's  room  alone,  and  not  only  run  the  gaunt- 
let of  the  eyes  of  all  the  male  students  of  his  room  and  her  class 
in  recitation,  but  of  the  school  board  as  well.  When  released  by 
Miss  Torrendycke,  she  made  her  way  rapidly  through  the  inter- 
vening hall,  and,  with  a  grimace,  opened  the  door  and  passed  in 
to  recitation. 


A   MUSICAL   MYSTERY  209 

Obeying  the  impatient  signal  from  Mr.  Twirl,  and  meekly 
submitting  to  his  unmerited  rebuke  for  her  tardiness,  although 
she  smarted  under  it,  Daisy  seated  herself  near  the  door,  feeling 
strangely  out  of  place. 

Mr.  Twirl  had  finished  with  the  remainder  of  the  class  and 
now  pointed  out  to  Daisy  a  certain  passage  in  Cicero,  which  he 
wished  her  in  her  turn  to  translate,  this  being  the  class  in  Latin. 

The  remainder  of  the  class  had  been  given  time  in  which  to 
look  over  their  appointed  task,  but  with  the  customary  perversity 
of  fate,  he  began  at  that  end  of  the  class  at  which  Daisy  sat,  and 
consequently  she  had  no  time  to  review  her  own.  She  went 
through  it  with  credit,  however,  and  when  Mr.  Twirl  declared 
that  this  was  not  the  passage  he  had  selected  for  her,  Daisy  dis- 
puted him.  It  was  of  no  use.  Mr.  Twirl  was  a  very  stubborn 
man  and  insisted  that  she  read  off-hand  the  last  mentioned. 

Daisy  protested.  She  had  been  absent  from  school  when  this 
particular  portion  of  the  book  had  been  translated,  and  it  was 
entirely  new  to  her,  but  Mr.  Twirl  was  firm  in  his  determination, 
and  Daisy  blundered  through  the  exercise,  giving  an  original 
rendering  of  the  passage,  which  astonished  and  delighted  her  aud- 
ience. Mr.  Twirl,  who  was  an  authority  on  the  dead  language, 
contested  several  points,  but  Daisy,  now  put  upon  her  mettle, 
made  good  her  side  of  the  question,  and  was  sustained  in  her 
version  by  the  three  members  of  the  school  board  present. 

"Well,"  said  Mr.  Twirl,  "I  am  bound  to  admit  that  you 
have  given  a  more  pleasing  interpretation  of  the  passage  than 
has  heretofore  been  given.  And  now,  Miss  Zorlange,  be  pleased 
to  tell  us  what  gesture  Cicero  made  at  such  and  such  a  juncture  ? ' ' 

"Can't  say.    I  wasn't  there." 

"But  what  gesture  do  you  think  he  must  have  made  when 
giving  utterance  to  that  grand  sentence?" 

"Haven't  the  slightest  idea." 

"But,  Miss  Zorlange,"  insisted  Mr.  Twirl,  "What  gesture 
would  you,  yourself,  have  made  had  you  been  in  Cicero's 
place?" 

"I,"  said  Daisy,  then  repeating  in  a  tone  of  mock  horror, 
"I?  Why,  Mr.  Twirl,  I  should  not  have  made  any  gesture  what- 
ever." 

' '  But  why,  Miss  Zorlange  ?  Why  ? "  he  questioned,  persistent- 

At  this  precise  juncture,  Miss  Torrendycke     opened     the 

14 


210  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

schoolroom  door  and  was  about  to  enter  when  Daisy,  espying  her, 
brought  down  the  house  by  drawling  in  a  most  conscientious 
manner,  "Because  Miss  Torrendycke  says  'it  isn't  lady-like'." 

That  irate  female  stopped  to  hear  no  more,  but  beat  a  hasty 
retreat,  banging  the  door  as  she  went,  in  a  manner  that  was, 
to  say  the  least,  not  altogether  lady-like,  and  to  which  Daisy 
drew  the  attention  of  the  laughing  assembly  by  staring  in  pre- 
tended surprise  and  consternation,  very  hard  indeed  at  the  of- 
fending door  as  if  to  say:  "Come  now,  confess.  Thou  didst  it 
thyself,  didst  thou  not?  'Trilobitz,'  thou  knowest,  could  never 
have  been  guilty  of  an  action  so  extremely  '  unlady-like  ? '  ' 

Here  Mr.  Twirl  recovered  his  presence  of  mind,  which,  ac- 
cording to  Daisy's  interpretation,  meant  that  he  was  about  to 
pour  out  his  wrath  upon  her  devoted  head.  But  Daisy  won  the 
victory  again,  for  all  the  members  of  the  board  interfered  in  turn, 
declaring  that  her  ebulition  of  temper  was  quite  excusable,  on 
the  ground  that  it  had  arisen  from  a  sense  of  injustice  done  her 
in  forcing  her  to  render  a  difficult  passage  without  preparation, 
while  the  remainder  of  the  class  were  given  time  in  which  to  look 
over  the  portions  allotted  to  them;  and  every  one  of  them  sus- 
tained her  in  her  statement  that  the  first  which  she  had  rendered 
perfectly  was  the  one  given  to  her  to  translate. 

There  was  much  laughter  over  this  event  as  the  members  of 
the  school  board  talked  it  over  in  the  superintendent's  room  a 
short  time  later.  Mr.  Kingsley  took  the  opportunity  now  offered 
to  state  Daisy  Zorlange's  case  in  plain  terms.  He  told  of  her 
innumerable  escapades,  but  declared  that  she  was  irritated  into 
committing  most  of  her  follies  by  the  spiteful  naggings  of  the 
scholars  and  teachers. 

The  stories  delighted  the  august  body  addressed.  All  de- 
clared that  the  young  lady  should  be  rewarded  for  her  ready 
wit  and  not  punished. 

There  were  two  ministers,  two  lawyers  and  a  physician  now 
present,  and  all  expressed  the  wish  that  they  could  witness  one 
of  these  sparring  matches  between  Miss  Torrendycke  and  her  re- 
fractory pupil. 

"Well,"  said  Mr.  Kingsley,  hesitatingly,  "I  am  willing  to 
confess  that  during  this  month  of  probation,  as  I  may  call  it,  I 
have  spent  some  time  in  the  observation  of  what  passes  contin- 
uously in  Miss  Torrendycke 's  room,  from  the  closet  adjoining 
the  schoolroom,  where  Stinson  keeps  her  brooms  and  dustpans, 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  211 

and  from  which  a  small  window  looks  into  the  study  room.  Now, 
if  you  can  be  utterly  noiseless  in  your  movements  I  can  promise 
you  a  rare  treat,  for  this  warfare  goes  on  unceasingly,  with  no 
rest  whatever  for  the  tired  instructress." 

Shoes  and  boots  were  immediately  discarded,  and  each,  with 
his  own  in  hand,  the  procession  started  in  grave  but  expectant 
silence  for  the  dust-room  in  question. 

There  was,  as  I  have  said,  a  small  window  between  this  and 
the  schoolroom  and  this  was  screened  upon  the  schoolroom  side 
by  a  lace  curtain  through  the  meshes  of  which  every  occupant 
could  be  plainly  seen. 

The  class  in  ancient  history  was  reciting.  Daisy  was  a  mem- 
ber of  this  class.  There  seemed  to  be  an  undercurrent  of  some 
sort  disturbing  the  calm  of  the  room.  That  Daisy  Zorlange  was 
this  disturbing  element  was  plainly  to  be  seen  from  the  glances 
of  anger  cast  upon  her  seemingly  unconscious  face.  What  it  was 
that  she  had  done  did  not  transpire. 

Miss  Torrendycke,  who  seemed  greatly  perturbed,  dropped 
a  book  at  this  precise  moment  and  Daisy,  with  ready  alacrity, 
stooped  to  pick  it  up,  her  head,  in  her  haste,  coming  into  violent 
contact  with  that  of  Miss  Torrendycke  with  a  thud  which  upset 
the  risibles  of  the  whole  school. 

Of  course,  it  was  an  accident,  for  Daisy  apologized,  and  pre- 
sented the  book  which  she  had  literally  snatched  from  out  Miss 
Torrendycke 's  hand  with  such  a  show  of  graceful  service  that  it 
was  impossible  not  to  thank  her  for  her  attention.  And  the 
sweetly  reproachful  look  she  cast  upon  those  who  could  thus  up- 
set the  decorous  calm  of  the  schoolroom  by  openly  laughing  at 
the  accident,  was  simply  "killing." 

' '  Te-he-he ' '  next  laughed  Daisy,  and  immediately  explained : 
"Miss  Smith  says  that  'Caesar's  temperature  was  mild  and 
pleasant,'  "  adding  in  an  aside,  "I  wonder  she  did  not  say  'sal- 
ubrious' as  well." 

"Miss  Smith,"  exclaimed  Miss  Torrendycke,  in  remon- 
strance. 

' '  That  is  what  the  book  says, ' '  declared  Miss  Smith,  looking 
"daggers"  at  Daisy.  No  one  else  had  noticed  the  blunder. 

"It  says  that  Caesar's  temperature  was  mild  and  salubri- 
ous," prompted  Daisy,  and  Miss  Smith  repeated  obediently, 
"mild  and  salubrious;"  then  burst  into  angry  tears  at  the  merri- 
ment the  wrords  excited.  For  Miss  Smith  was  another  of  the 


212  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

"goody-good"  sort,  and  could  not  bear  correction;  but  she  was 
stubborn,  too,  and  produced  her  book,  from  which  she  read  the 
very  same  in  triumph,  amid  the  laughter  of  the  class,  Daisy  say- 
ing, pityingly:  "Poor  thing.  She  cannot  even  read  correctly." 
And  it  had  to  be  pointed  out  to  the  obtuse  Miss  Smith  that  the 
word  used  in  the  book  was  not  "temperature,"  but  "tempera- 
ment. ' ' 

"It  was  all  Daisy  Zorlange's  fault,"  she  declared.  And  in 
answer  to  Daisy's  mute  appeal,  Miss  Torrendycke  was  forced,  as 
it  were,  to  defend  her,  and  to  reprove  both  Miss  Smith  in  particu- 
lar, and  the  school  in  general,  for  laying  false  charges  against 
that  unoffending  person,  who  was,  as  she  could  see,  bravely  try- 
ing to  redeem  her  past  record  and  to  hold  her  place  in  the  school. 

Daisy  wept  at  this  touching  tribute  to  her  integrity,  and  to 
their  discredit,  be  it  said,  the  other  girls  and  the  hidden  spies  in 
the  little  dust-room  giggled  at  this. 

"It  is  growing  late,"  said  Miss  Torrendycke,  "And  while 
I  detain  the  class,  I  will  call  the  deportment  roll.  Some  of  the 
young  ladies  are  to  be  excused  early.."  And  then  began  the 
pantomime. 

"Imperfect,"  answered  the  owner  of  the  first  name  called 
as  she  flushed  scarlet  and  looked  as  if  she  could  have  throttled 
Daisy  Zorlange  for  that  look  of  sorrowful  reproach  with  which 
she  regarded  this  erring  sister. 

"Imperfect,"  "Imperfect."  "Imperfect,"  "And  it's  all 
Daisy  Zorlange's  fault,"  whined  more  than  one.  "She  made  me 
whisper  to  her." 

Daisy's  air  of  stern  propriety,  and  conscious  rectitude  was 
not  to  be  questioned.  And  upon  a  second  rebuke  from  the  now 
almost  distracted  Miss  Torrendycke,  the  laments  were  loud  and 
long. 

Daisy  sat  unmoved  except  to  sorrow  for  their  injustice, 
the  very  'Moral,'  as  she  would  have  termed  it  in  another,  of  pa- 
tient suffering,  and  with  Christian  Forbearance  and  Forgiveness 
written  upon  every  feature,  and  when  at  length  her  own  name 
was  reached,  at  the  very  bottom  of  the  list,  the  angelic  sweetness, 
and  sublime  consciousness  with  which  she,  after  an  eloquent  and 
effective  pause,  answered  with  aggravating  distinctness:  "Per- 
fect, ' '  was  beyond  all  else  exasperating  to  her  aggravated  room- 
mates. 

Miss  Torrendycke  had  great  difficulty  in  suppressing    the 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  213 

threatened  riot;  and  to  the  disgust  of  all  and  the  amusement  of 
the  young  gentleman  in  the  reciting  class,  she  warmly  defended 
the  culprit,  declaring  that  she  noticed  with  suprise  and  sorrow 
that  Miss  Zorlange  was  and  had  doubtless  been  throughout, 
' '  More  sinned  against  than  sinning, ' '  and  she  was  unable  to  con- 
demn her. 

For  be  it  known  that  Daisy  had  already  made  her  peace  with 
the  "Trilobitz"  for  her  former  offense  against  her  of  that  day. 

"Miss  Torrendycke, "  she  had  said,  "I  know  that  thou  ad- 
mirest  the  enamelled  locket  I  wear.  There  are  two  of  the  same  de- 
sign still  at  Flotsman's,  one  in  black  enamel  and  one  in  blue  like 
mine.  If  thou  wilt  say  which  of  the  two  thou  wouldst  prefer,  I 
will  call  there  upon  my  way  home  from  school  this  evening  and 
have  the  one  thou  choosest  suitably  engraved ;  that  is  if  thou  wilt 
deign  to  accept  it  as  a  peace-offering." 

Miss  Torrendycke  "deigned,"  but  asked  a  little  dubiously  if 
it  were  not  too  expensive  a  present  to  be  made  without  her 
father's  consent? 

Daisy  smiled.  ' '  Oh,  my  f ayther  lets  me  do  pretty  much  as 
I  like  in  such  matters.  And  I  believe  that  I  have  never  before 
made  thee  a  present." 

The  locket  decorated  with  the  black  enamel  was  chosen,  and 
the  out-come  of  it  all  was  the  stout  defense  of  Daisy  that  we  have 
seen.  But  Miss  Torrendycke  watched  the  girl  curiously,  not 
more  than  half  believing  in  her  own  good  fortune,  and  resolved 
to  call  in  person  upon  the  jeweler  and  settle  her  doubts  upon  the 
subject. 


214  LA  GRAN  QU1BIBA 


CANTO  THE  TWENTY-FIFTH. 
"ABSOLUTION." 

The  "Grave  and  Reverent  Seigneurs"  beat  a  hasty  and  sil- 
ent retreat  from  their  point  of  ambush,  their  faces  purple  with 
suppressed  laughter,  with  boots  and  shoes  in  hand — why  they 
should  have  carried  these  with  them  is  not  clear— and  passing 
along  the  lengthy  hall  and  through  the  ante-chamber  into  the 
Superintendent's  private  office,  they  locked  the  door  against 
all  intruders  and  then,  throwing  themselves  into  all  preposterous 
attitudes  they  yelled  and  shrieked  with  laughter. 

"By  Thunder,"  screamed  the  Judge  from  his  lowly  station 
upon  the  front  edge  of  the  platform,  "Was  there  ever  such  an 
actress?  That  little  witch  would  make  her  fortune  upon  the 
stage.  'Perfect,'  I  should  remark  that  the  whole  scene  was 
'perfect.'  ' 

"But,"  said  Mr.  Kingsley  after  their  mirth  had  somewhat 
subsided,  "What  is  to  be  done  with  this  young  lady.  Everything 
and  everybody  seems  to  demand  her  expulsion  from  the  school." 

"Expelled  from  the  school?  And  for  being  the  very  pret- 
tiest and  smartest  feature  in  it  ? "  shouted  the  Eeverend  Sextant. 
"Not  if  this  slab  of  a  Board  knows  itself."  . 

"No"  chimed  in  the  Doctor.  "I  vote  her  a  Chromo.  Turn 
the  Old  Cat  out  if  necessary,  but  this  school  can  not  be  run  with- 
out that  girl." 

"Oh,  keep  them  both  in,  for  fun's  sake,"  said  the  Judge. 
"I  am  bound  to  visit  the  school  at  least  once  a  week  while  this 
state  of  things  lasts.  I  would  not  miss  it  for  the  world. ' ' 

"Ha!  Ha!  Ha!,"  they  laughed  in  chorus.  And  each  in  turn 
tried  in  vain  to  mimic  Daisy's:  "Perfect." 

A  few  moments  later  they  trooped  homeward  with  studious 
gravity  along  with  the  throng  of  scholars. 

"Oh,  how  I  wish  I  knew  whether  Daisy  is  to  be  expelled," 
said  Howard  Gould,  as  he  and  Willis  St.  Aubyn  walked  to- 
gether. 

"I  am  going  to  ask,"  was  the  reply.  "I  cannot  wait  to  hear 
the  result."  And  he  turned  back  a  little  and  boldly  confronted 
the  School  Superintendent  and  members  of  the  School  Board. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  215 

"Mr.  Kingsley,"  questioned  Willis  of  the  former  whom  he 
had  taken  a  little  aside,  "You  know  how  very  dear  Daisy  Zor- 
lange  is  to  me.  Will  you  not  tell  me  what  is  to  be  her  fate?  Will 
she  be  compelled  to  quit  the  school  in  disgrace  because  of  her 
love  of  fun  ? ' ' 

There  was  an  expression  of  owl-like  gravity  upon  the  face  of 
Mr.  Kingsley,  but  a  twinkle  in  his  eye  as  he  answered:  "You 
need  not  fear,  my  lad.  The  School  Board  refuses  to  see  any- 
thing worthy  of  reproof  in  the  conduct  of  Miss  Zorlange,  which 
in  the  Board's  opinion  is  "perfect." 

The  "Board"  fell  behind,  apparently  to  smother  a  laugh, 
and  Willis  went  forward  musing. 

' '  I  am  certain  that  I  heard  some  one  in  the  little  dust-room, ' ' 
he  said.  "And,  yes,  that  is  it,"  he  decided  with  an  air  of  relief. 
' '  They  were  all  there  spying,  and  heard  the  whole  affair. ' '  Then 
both  he  and  Howard  called  to  Daisy  who  was  hurrying  past: 
"Daisy,  Daisy,  we  have  some  good  news  for  you.  May  we  not 
see  you  home?" 

"Yes.  If  thou  canst  catch  me,"  was  her  reply  as  she  fled 
with  the  speed  of  an  antelope.  But  as  she  faced  them  for  a 
second  they  noticed  that  there  were  tears  in  her  eyes,  and  that 
her  face  was  pale  and  wan. 

"Poor  Daisy.  She  believes  her  time  has  come,"  said 
Howard.  ' '  We  must  follow  her  and  relieve  her  mind. ' ' 

This  they  did,  but  were  met  at  the  door  not  by  Daisy  but  by 
Janet,  who  refused  to  permit  them  to  see  her  young  mistress 
whom  she  declared  that  they  had  already  worried  to  death. 
Howard  pleaded  in  vain  for  an  interview  saying  that  they  were 
the  bearers  of  good  news  which  would  give  Daisy  great  pleasure. 

Janet  was  obdurate  and  refused  even  to  permit  them  to  see 
Mr.  Zorlange  himself. 

Then  Willis  took  matters  promptly  into  his  own  hands  and 
stepping  to  the  front,  encircled  maiden  Janet  in  his  arms  and 
imprinted  a  rousing  smack  upon  her  lips,  threatening  that  if  she 
did  not  allow  them  not  only  to  enter,  but  to  remain  to  tea  with 
Daisy,  that  he  would  repeat  the  offense  until  she  would  be  glad 
to  consent.  And  an  hour  later  Daisy,  pale  and  languid  indeed, 
but  recovered  from  her  fright,  and  brimming  over  with  mischief, 
was  presiding  over  the  repast. 


216  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

"Well,"  said  the  Reverend  Sextant,  as  Willis  left  them  to 
join  Howard  Gould  upon  their  homeward  walk,  "Well,  I  cannot 
but  think  that  young  girl  the  most  beautiful  and  the  sprightliest 
I  have  seen.  I  mean  to  introduce  my  son  Otto  to  her  and  order 
him  to  win  her  for  his  wife. ' ' 

"Humph,"  was  the  emphatic  comment  of  Mr.  Kingsley,  as 
he  brought  to  his  mind  a  picture  of  the  red-headed,  freckle-faced 
Otto,  the  most  disagreeable  as  well  as  the  ugliest  boy  in  the  city, 
"Humph!  There  is  small  chance  for  Otto  there.  Both  of  those 
handsome  boys,  who  belong  to  the  best  and  wealthiest  families 
in  the  town  are  her  suitors.  "And,"  he  added  sotto  voce,  "I 
would  marry  her  myself  before  I  would  consent  to  such  a  sacri- 
fice." 

The  idea  was  new  to  him.  But  thinking  it  over  at  his  lonely 
dinner  table  an  hour  or  so  later,  the  idea  became  a  fixed  purpose. 
"For,"  said  he,  "If  I  can  win  the  love  of  the  pretty  whimsical 
child,  her  father  is  certain  to  consent  to  her  union  to  so  old  a 
friend  as  I  am." 

Mr.  Kingsley 's  favorite  axiom  was:  "Strike  while  the  iron's 
hot,"  and  he  made  his  way  to  the  Zorlange  habitation  that  very 
evening  to  commence  his  wooing.  Outside  the  door,  he  was  greet- 
ed with  shouts  of  laughter  and  song,  and  stopped  to  admire  the 
scene  which  was  taking  place  in  "Daisy's  Parlor."  The  school- 
mates were  singing  a  mirthful  Trio  in  which  Daisy  and  Willis 
had  exchanged  parts,  she  singing  the  Baritone  while  Willis  was 
pouring  forth  triumphant  shrieks  and  making  impossible  runs 
and  trills  in  the  high-pitched  Soprano.  He  changed  his  mind.  It 
was  too  apparent  that  the  girl  must  be  won  by  one  or  other  of  her 
boy  lovers.  So  he  made  a  sober  call  upon  his  friend  Emil  Zor- 
lange and  to  his  dying  day  the  latter  never  suspected  how  near 
he  was  to  becoming  the  father-in-law  of  the  Superintendent  of 
the  public  schools. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  217 

CANTO  THE  TWENTY-SIXTH. 
"SHE  WON'T,  AN'  THERE'S  AN  END  ON  'T." 

There  had  been  a  row  in  the  Rhetoric  Class.  There  had  been 
an  awful  row  in  the  Rhetoric  Class.  Miss  Torrendycke  had  ac- 
cused Daisy  Zorlange  of  plagiarism,  had  been  proven  in  the 
wrong,  retracted,  but  so  ungraciously  that  Daisy  in  her  anger 
declared  that  she  would  upon  no  account  read  another  essay 
while  in  the  school. 

A  war  of  words  had  ensued  and  the  question  was  referred 
to  the  Superintendent,  who  sided  with  Daisy  as  usual  and  upheld 
her  in  her  determination,  saying  that  she  had  but  resented  an 
unwarrantable  insult,  and  that  she  was  to  be  excused  from  all 
rhetorical  exercises  until  such  a  time  as  it  should  be  her  pleas- 
ure to  resume  them.  But  Daisy  was  not  of  an  obdurate  nature, 
and  after  a  few  weeks  she  was  coaxed  into  writing  an  essay  for 
the  rhetorical  exercises  of  the  next  Friday. 

It  had  been  the  habit  of  most  of  the  scholars  to  dodge  these 
exercises,  especially  since  they  had  occupied  the  new  high  school 
building,  where  it  took  real  courage  to  mount  the  Rostrum  some 
five  or  six  steps  high  and  attempt  to  make  themselves  heard  in 
the  great  Chapel,  which  was  the  largest  hall  in  the  city,  and  hold 
forth  to  an  audience  composed  of  the  whole  school  of  five  rooms 
assembled.  It  proved  to  be  such  a  trying  ordeal  that  one  and 
all  the  scholars  fell  into  the  habit  of  absenting  themselves  from 
school  upon  that  particular  afternoon.  And  it  was  found  neces- 
sary to  enforce  a  rule  forbidding  absence  unless  caused  by  sick- 
ness or  absence  from  the  city.  Disobedience  of  this  rule  would 
meet  with  severe  penalty  and  the  delinquents  be  compelled  to 
read  or  recite,  before  the  assmbled  school,  upon  the  first  morning 
of  their  return  at  the  conclusion  of  the  regular  Chapel  Exercises. 

Now  it  happened  that  the  relenting  Daisy,  upon  her  way 
to  school  upon  that  particular  Friday  afternoon  was  seized  with 
vertigo  and  forced  to  return  home,  where  she  was  confined  to  her 
bed  for  the  next  two  days.  She  had  written  for  herself  an  "ex- 
cuse" and  begged  Lotta  Moore  who  was  walking  with  her  to 
carry  the  same  to  Miss  Torrendycke.  Whether  or  not  she  did  so, 


218  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

Daisy  never  knew.  But  Miss  Torrendycke  asked  her  for  her 
essay  the  very  first  thing  upon  Monday  morning. 

Daisy  declared  that  she  had  been  excused  from  the  duty  of 
reading  this  by  her  illness,  and  knowing  this  she  had  left  her 
composition  at  home. 

She  was  told  to  bring  it  the  next  day  which  she  did  not  do, 
declaring  that  she  did  not  intend  to  read  it  having  been  ill  at  the 
proper  time. 

Miss  Torrendycke  pointed  out  to  her  the  fact  that  Laura 
Bertis  who  had  been  absent  from  town  upon  the  previous  Friday 
would  be  obliged  to  read  hers. 

Daisy  had  always  a  keen  sense  of  justice  and  yielded  at  once 
so  far  as  to  say,  that  if  Laura  Bertis  read  her  essay  she  would 
at  the  same  time  read  her  own. 

Then  Miss  Torrendycke  triumphant,  reminded  her  that  the 
essay  had  not  been  seen  and  had  consequently  not  been  corrected 
by  her,  and  told  her  that  she  must  go  at  once  to  her  home  and 
bring  it.  It  was  of  no  use  to  expostulate,  and  Daisy  was  com- 
pelled to  take  the  remainder  of  the  forenoon  and  get  her  composi- 
tion, and  in  consequence  of  this,  needlessly  failed  in  all  her  after- 
noon's  lessons.  Then  indeed  her  temper  was  roused,  and  upon 
being  charged  by  her  teacher  to  present  herself  promptly  at  the 
Chapel  Exercises  next  morning,  she  replied:  "Please  remember 
Miss  Trilobitz  that  I  am  not  compelled  to  do  this  unless  I  like. 
But  since  I  promised  it  I  repeat  that ' '  If  Laura  Bertis  reads  hers 
I  will  mine.  But,"  she  added  emphatically,  "If  she  does  not, 
then  I  refuse  to  do  so,  for  nothing  would  induce  me  to  go  up 
there  alone." 

Miss  Torrendycke  nodded  as  much  as  to  say:  "We'll  see 
about  that,"  and  Daisy  sent  the  listeners  into  a  smothered  fit  of 
laughter  by  mimicing  her  nod  and  offensive  smile  to  a  nicety. 

Scenting  mischief  as  only  school-boys  and  girls  can,  every- 
body was  present  at  the  Chapel  Exercises  next  morning  (that  is 
to  say,  everybody  except  Laura  Bertis. ) 

Daisy,  who  now  belonged  to  the  First  Class,  sat  at  the  ex- 
treme end  of  the  great  Hall  upon  the  very  last  row  of  chairs;  and 
it  seemed  a  very  long  way  indeed  from  her  seat  to  the  high  and 
dreadfully  obstrusive  Rostrum ;  for  be  it  remembered  Daisy  was 
very  shy  indeed. 

"Miss  Zorlange,"  demanded  the  ever-present  Miss  Torren- 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTEEY  219 

dycke:  "Are  you  ready  to  respond  when  called  upon  to  read 
your  essay?" 

"Where  is  Laura  Bertis?"  asked  Daisy. 

"Well  a-ah-ahem.  Miss  Bertis  is  not  present  this  morning. 
But  be  pleased  to  remember  Miss  Zorlange  that  will  not  excuse 
you.  You  will  be  required  to  read  your  essay  without  her 
presence. ' ' 

"Never,"  was  Daisy's  decisive  answer. 

"Miss  Zorlange,"  cried  Miss  Torren dycke  sternly,  "You  had 
better  comply  with  the  rules  of  the  school." 

"Fudge,"  said  Daisy  contemptuously,  and  repeated  her  de- 
mand of  "Where  is  Laura  Bertis?" 

During  the  Bible-reading  and  Prayer  that  followed,  more 
than  one  of  Daisy's  classmates  whisperingly  pleaded  with  her  to 
do  as  she  was  bidden.  But  Daisy  was  upon  her  "war-horse,"  as 
Lotta  Moore  declared  and  shook  her  obstinate  little  head  in  re- 
fusal. 

The  Prayer  concluded,  Mr.  Twirl  arose  and  said:  "The 
School  will  remain  seated  while  Miss  Zorlange  reads  her  essay  of 
last  Friday  afternoon.  Now  Miss  Zorlange." 

Three  times  Mr.  Twirl  repeated  this  invitation  without  re- 
sponse from  Daisy,  and  meantime  many  anxious  and  terrified 
glances  were  cast  upon  her  by  both  boys  and  girls  of  her  class. 
But  she  did  not  stir. 

Miss  Torrendycke,  alarmed  at  the  storm  that  was  of  her 
own  brewing,  and  which  now  threatened  to  break,  went  to  her 
and  expostulated  with  her  most  seriously. 

Daisy  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  all. 

At  length  Mr.  Twirl  who  was  a  most  irascible  little  man, 
sprang  to  his  feet  and  gesticulating  violently  demanded  in  thun- 
derous tones:  "Miss  Zorlange.  Miss  Zorlange.  Will  you  come 
forward  and  read  your  essay,  or  will  you  not?" 

And  Daisy  breaking  from  the  hands  that  would  have  de- 
tained her,  sprang  up  and  in  an  exaggerated  imitation  both  of  his 
gestures  and  voice,  shaking  her  fist  after  his  precise  manner, 
yelled  back:  "Mr.  Twirl.  I  will  not." 

There  was  much  smothered  laughter  throughout  the  Chapel 
and  a  soft  clapping  of  many  hands,  although  they  somehow  felt 
that  Daisy  Zorlange  was  deliberately  putting  the  proverbial 
4 '  Last  straw  upon  the  camel 's  back. ' ' 

Mr.  Twirl  stood  for  a  moment  as  if  petrified  by  amazement 


220  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

at  the  girl's  audacity.  Then  he  said  in  a  passion-choked  voice: 
"Miss  Zorlange.  You  will  be  prepared  to  read  me  a  handsome 
public  apology.  Otherwise  it  will  be  my  duty  to  expel  you  from 
the  school." 

"I  will  make  it  now,"  said  Daisy  sweetly,  but  there  was  a 
dangerous  light  in  her  flashing  eyes  which  showed  to  those  who 
knew  her  best  that  she  was  determined  to  have  the  best  of  the 
argument. 

And  Mr.  Twirl,  possibly  in  order  to  gain  time  to  think  how 
best  to  deal  with  this  rebellious  pupil  said:  ''You  will  be  good 
enough,  Miss  Zorlange,  to  stop  at  my  room  when  you  go  down 
stairs.  The  school  may  go  to  their  rooms." 

Daisy  was  some  time  in  reaching  the  room  designated,  halted 
as  she  was  upon  the  way  by  under-teachers  and  school-mates 
who  all  were  badly  frightened  at  the  tempest  which  had  been 
raised  and  begged  her  to  do  Mr.  Twirl's  bidding. 

But  the  irate  Daisy  paid  no  heed,  and  strode  in  stormy  sil- 
ence to  Mr.  Twirl's  apartment. 

Once  there,  in  spite  of  the  whispered  pleadings  of  her  allies 
and  good  comrades,  she  steadily  refused  to  read  any  apology  writ- 
ten by  Mr.  Twirl,  or  indeed  any  apology  whatever  now,  declar- 
ing that  she  had  been  in  the  right  throughout. 

"Then,"  said  Mr.  Twirl  losing  all  control  over  his  temper 
under  the  taunts  of  his  pupil,  "You  may  pack  your  books,  Miss 
Zorlange,  and  go  home." 

Daisy  with  a  mocking  curtsey  complied. 

Miss  Torrendycke,  well  knowing  that  the  rules  had  been 
over-stepped  by  others  as  well  as  Daisy,  tried  hard  to  prevent  the 
carrying  away  of  Daisy's  books,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  The  girl 
was  firm  in  her  determination  to  quit  the  school. 

As  might  have  been  expected,  Mr.  Kingsley  was  furious 
when  he  learned  that  his  favorite  had  been  expelled  from  school. 

Mr.  Twirl  had  indeed  exceeded  his  authority  in  the  matter, 
the  power  to  expel  any  student  being  vested  in  the  school  board 
alone. 

Mr.  Twirl  called  upon  Daisy  at  her  home  and  apologized, 
begging  her  to  return  to  the  school,  and  Miss  Torrendycke  did  the 
same,  but  the  girl  was  not  to  be  persuaded,  and  remained  at 
home. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  221 

The  pleadings  of  Mr.  Kingsley  were  especially  ineffective, 
and  the  result  was  that  the  school  board,  in  special  session,  gave 
both  Mr.  Twirl  and  Miss  Torrendycke  their  "conge,"  telling 
them  that  their  resignations  were  expected  to  be  handed  in,  be- 
fore the  close  of  the  term. 

And  so  it  came  about  that  Daisy  Zorlange  quitted  the  High 
School  in  apparent  disgrace  and  did  not  graduate  with  the  re- 
mainder of  her  class. 


222  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

CANTO  THE  TWENTY-SEVENTH. 

"THE  MAIDEN  is  NOT  DEAD  BUT  SLEEPETH." 

Daisy  and  Willis  felt  themselves  so  to  speak,  alone.  Virginia 
and  Howard  were  both  gone,  and  it  required  all  the  comfort  to 
be  derived  from  the  new  tie  that  bound  them  to  each  other,  to 
enable  Daisy  to  bear  the  unaccustomed  absence  of  those  dear 
friends  whom  she  had  been  in  the  habit  of  seeing  daily  for  the 
past  three  years.  Willis  and  she,  however,  were  almost  constantly 
together. 

And  when  Willis  left  her  after  a  long  happy  evening  spent 
in  her  company  and  did  not  return,  Daisy  could  only  wonder 
and  wait.  At  length  she  plucked  up  sufficient  courage  to  call  at 
the  St.  Aubyn  mansion. 

The  family,  she  was  told  were  all  absent  from  the  city.  But 
Saunders,  Willis's  groom  showed  her  through  the  house,  and 
told  her  that  Willis  had  been  sent  for  some  unknown  reason  to 
the  house  of  a  distant  relative,  and  this  without  warning,  and 
that  from  thence  he  was  to  go  direct  to  college  without  first  re- 
turning home. 

It  was  not  Daisy's  habit  to  confide  in  servants  except  in  the 
case  of  her  old  nurse,  Janet;  but  Saunders,  she  knew  stood  in 
much  the  same  place  to  Willis  that  Janet  did  to  herself;  and 
while  they  were  in  Willis's  own  particular  room  which  spoke  so 
plainly  not  only  of  its  occupant  but  of  herself  as  well,  she  told 
the  faithful  fellow  all  her  sorrow. 

Saunders  was  puzzled.  It  was  so  utterly  foreign  to  his 
young  master's  nature  to  do  a  cruel  act  that  he  felt  and  com- 
forted Daisy  with  the  assurance  that  there  was  a  mistake  some- 
where, saying  that  he  himself  would  secure  Willis's  address  and 
write  to  him  for  an  explanation. 

Time  passed  on,  and  Daisy,  always  delicate  and  frail  in 
body,  pined  and  grew  thin  and  pale. 

The  summer  had  passed  and  with  the  Autumn  the  summer 
wanderers  returned.  Then  Daisy  once  more  ventured  to  seek 
comfort  for  her  sinking  heart  by  calling  again  at  the  St.  Aubyn 's. 


A  MUSICAL   MYSTERY  223 

Some  instinct  told  her  that  Willis  was  innocent  of  all  de- 
ception toward  her,  and  that  the  misunderstanding  was  one  of 
his  mother's  creating.  So  she  sent  in  her  card  to  that  lady  and 
requested  a  personal  interview. 

Nothing  loath,  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  descended  to  the  reception 
room  to  at  once  put  an  end  to  this  silly  little  romance  of  her 
favorite  son,  with  one  whom  she  chose  to  believe  an  Intrigante. 

"The  girl  is  certainly  very  lovely,"  was  her  thought  as 
Daisy's  sweet,  sorrowful  gaze  met  her  own.  And  the  girl  ad- 
vanced with  slow,  unsteady  grace  to  meet  her. 

Daisy  made  known  her  errand  in  a  few  words. 

"I  am  Willis  St.  Aubyn 's  betrothed,"  she  said:  "He  left  me 
without  bidding  me  'adieux.'  I  have  called  here  to  request 
his  present  address  that  I  may  write  and  ask  an  explanation  from 
him. ' ' 

Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  refused.  She  abused  Daisy  in  no  measured 
terms. 

Daisy's  only  answer  to  all  was:  "But  we  love  each  other. 
We  cannot  live  without  each  other." 

But  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  was  inexorable.  She  grew  more  and 
more  unreasonably  bitter  toward  the  offender,  as  she  chose  to 
consider  Daisy. 

Both  were  standing  where  they  had  exchanged  greetings, 
Daisy  with  downcast  eyes  and  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  gesticulating 
violently.  Neither  had  noticed  the  entrance  of  the  Governor  who 
was  about  to  interfere  saying:  "Why  my  dear,  what  possible 
objection  can  you  have  to  my  friend,  Emil  Zorlange's  pretty 
daughter?"  When  in  answer  to  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn 's  cruel  and 
final  denial  Daisy  raised  her  beautiful  eyes  so  full  of  agony  that 
the  lady  herself  started  forward  as  if  to  undo  her  work. 

All  too  late !  Daisy  without  a  single  cry  or  moan,  but  with 
that  terrible  look  in  her  eyes  threw  up  her  hands  with  the  palms 
outward,  and  fell  backward  upon  the  floor. 

At  this  moment  before  either  of  the  terror-stricken  occupants 
of  the  room  could  move  or  speak,  the  door  was  thrown  suddenly 
open  and  Willis  and  Saunders  stood  upon  the  threshhold. 

"So"  The  question  was  hissed  rather  than  spoken,  "So  you 
have  killed  her  at  last,  my  tender  little  Blossom?  I  knew  that 
you  would  between  you."  Then  followed  a  volley  of  bitter  re- 
proachful words  which  stung  his  listeners  to  the  quick.  His 


224  LA  GRAN   QUIBIRA 

mother  literally  quailed  beneath  the  lash  of  his  furious  words. 

''Remember  Willis,  that  it  is  your  mother  to  whom  you  are 
speaking,"  expostulated  Governor  St.  Aubyn. 

"My  mother,"  repeated  Willis  scornfully.  "There  lies  all 
that  is  best  within  me,  stricken  down  by  the  ruthless  hand  of  my 
mother.  A  mother's  action  truly.  "No"  he  cried  passionately, 
' '  I  have  no  mother.  I  repudiate  her.  And  you  ?  What  have  you 
to  say  to  your  own  cowardly  conduct  toward  this  unoffending 
child  whom  you  knew  to  be  dearer  to  me  than  my  own  soul 's  wel- 
fare. A  trust  betrayed,  a  life  blighted,  and  a  beautiful  spirit 
done  to  death.  No.  I  am  one  bereaved  of  all  that  is  dear  to  me. 
Father,  mother  and  home  I  have  none,  from  the  moment  I  leave 
this  house  with  my  murdered  bride." 

"No,"  he  said  sternly  in  answer  to  tears  and  protestations. 
"When  my  dead  is  restored  to  life,  I  may  forgive,  but  not  until 
then." 

As  Willis  raised  the  prostrate  form  of  his  idol  from  the  floor 
and  placed  it  upon  a  sofa,  Governor  St.  Aubyn  led  or  rather 
carried,  his  wife  from  the  room  in  violent  hysterics. 

"Saunders,  lend  a  hand,  will  you,"  he  called. 

But  Saunders  simply  rang  the  bell  for  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn 's 
maid,  and  said  with  cutting  emphasis:  "My  master  needs  me 
most." 

The  doctor  was  hastily  summoned.  Willis  halted  him  in  the 
hallway  saying:  "Let  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  and  her  hysterics  wait 
for  once,  doctor.  Here  is  one  who  needs  your  services  more." 

And  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  did  wait.  Doctor  Winthrop  after  a  long 
examination  of  Daisy  said:  "She  is  dead.  There  is  no  hope." 
Then  he  left  the  house  where  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  waited  in  vain  for 
his  coming,  and  rode  forward  in  his  gig  to  break  the  sorrowful 
news  to  Emil  Zorlange,  that  his  beautiful  young  daughter,  his 
only  hope  and  joy  in  life  had  been  suddenly  stricken  dead  by 
heart  disease,  while  Willis  and  Saunders  followed  more  slowly 
in  the  carriage  with  the  body  of  the  young  girl. 

The  grief  of  Emil  Zorlange  for  the  loss  of  the  one  who  was 
all  that  was  dear  to  him  in  life  was  something  fearful  to  witness, 
and  at  times>  it  aroused  Willis  from  the  stupor  into  which  it  had 
plunged  him.  Then  he  would  go  to  the  bereaved  father  and  em- 
brace him  tenderly  telling  him  all  that  Daisy  had  been  to  him. 
This  done  he  would  again  return  to  his  seat  to  fight  out  his  own 


A  MUSICAL  M.YSTERY  225 

battle  in  silence,  seeming  to  take  note  of  nothing  that  was  pass- 
ing around  him. 

So  the  day  passed  and  twilight  was  deepening  about  them, 
when  Willis  was  aroused.  Daisy  had  been  robed  for  burial  and 
lay  as  if  sleeping  upon  a  snowy  couch  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
long  suite  of  rooms.  The  candles  were  lighted  about  her,  for  al- 
though Emil  Zorlange  belonged  to  no  Sect  that  made  this  the 
custom,  yet  somehow  it  seemed  appropriate  to  the  occasion. 

Throughout  the  live-long  day  Willis  had  sat,  as  I  said,  in  a 
strange  bewilderment  trying  to  realize  the  terrible  fate  that  had 
befallen  him,  and  to  gain  courage  with  which  to  meet  it  bravely. 
There  was  no  false  sentiment  in  the  lad,  tender  and  true  as  was 
his  heart.  He  did  not  say:  "I  will  die.  I  cannot  live  without 
her. ' '  He  knew  that  he  was  young  and  strong  and  would  in  all 
probability  live  to  that  good  old  age  that  most  of  his  family 
attained.  But  how  to  face  these  long  years  of  loneliness  without 
the  companionship  of  the  gentle,  loving  Daisy,  with  whom  all  of 
his  hopes  of  future  happiness  were  inter-twined  was  the  question 
which  puzzled  and  bewildered  him.  * '  Life  without  Daisy. ' '  The 
thought  appalled  him. 

No  one  disturbed  him  except  at  first.  They  left  him  to  fight 
out  his  battle  alone  and  gain  courage  to  face  his  desolate  future. 

They  said:    "Never  mind  him,  he  sees  nothing." 

And  went  on  with  their  mournful  duties  as  if  he  were  ncl, 
present.  As  in  a  dream  he  saw  them  prepare  his  loved  one  for 
the  grave.  Physicians  came  and  went.  And  he  somehow  reaUzed 
that  their  verdict  was  always  against  him.  Among  them  he 
noticed  as  in  a  dream  a  stranger— a  tall,  thin  angular  young  man 
who  seemed  to  differ  always  from  the  rest,  and  in  a  vague  sort  of 
a  way  Willis  came  to  regard  him  as  his  one  friend  among  them 
all. 

The  twilight  deepened.  All  went  their  way  with  the  one  ex- 
cepucn  of  this  raw-boned  stranger  who  bent  almost  constantly 
over  the  lifeless  form  of  the  young  girl,  who  lay  like  Beauty 
asleep  upon  a  bed  of  roses. 

Suddenly  the  stranger  raised  himself,  cast  a  hurried  look 
around,  then  came  slowly  toward  the  crouchine,  grief -stricken 
form  at  the  end  of  the  long  apartment  and  said  impressively: 
"The  damsel  is  not  dead  but  sleepeth." 

This  he  repeated  thrice  before  the  full  significance  of  the 


226  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

words  penetrated  with  any  meaning  to  the  dulled  senses  of  the 
lad.  Then  the  stranger,  taking  both  his  hands  into  his  own,  spoke 
to  him  earnestly  for  a  time ;  and  to  the  purpose,  for  Willis  sprang 
up  alive  as  it  seemed  to  him  for  the  first  time  since  lie  hail  beheld 
Dais.v  lying  stricken  to  death  by  his  own  mother's  hand;  and 
questioned  the  stranger  eagerly. 

"Remember  that  I  cannot  say  with  absolute  certainty,"  said 
the  Ltr&nger.  "But  it  is  my  belief  that  I  can  restore  her  to  you. 
But  remember  too  that  I  cannot  promise  this  unless  1  can  be  aided 
by  strong  and  firm  Lands." 

Willis  took  a  hasty  turn  about  the  apartment  and  as  he 
jia&sed  he  stooped  and  for  the  first  time  since  they  had  parted, 
kissed  her  lips.  For  all  day  he  had  said:  "This  is  not  Daisy. 
Daisy  has  gone." 

Then  he  came  back  to  the  side  of  the  stranger  and  with  a 
smile  held  out  his  hand  saying:  "I  am  of  iron,  of  tempered 
steel.  Try  me." 

"Take  a  walk  in  the  open  air  for  a  block  or  two,  and  tnke 
some  refreshment  as  well. ' ' 

' '  And  you  ? ' ' 

The  stranger's  face  flushed  a  little,  and  Willis  eyeing  him 
keenly  seemed  to  understand.  The  young  man  all  alive  now  to 
the  situation  stepped  into  another  apartment  and  gave  some  hur- 
ried orders. 

That  portion  of  the  house  was  then  cleared  of  all  save  their 
own  two  selves,  Janet,  and  Saunders  whose  assistance  they  re- 
quired, and  upon  whose  secrecy  they  could  rely  in  case  of  failure. 
Then  Janet  served  strong  coffee,  bread  and  meats. 

"I  have  not  broken  my  fast  before  this  for  forty-eight 
hours,"  said  the  stranger  with  another  flush. 

Willis  laughed  a  little,  then  drawing  the  gaunt  face  down  to 
his  own,  kissed  the  stranger  after  that  boyish  fashion  of  his,  and 
whispered :  ' '  All  that  sort  of  thing  is  over  now,  my  brother. ' ' 

When  all  was  made  ready,  the  doors  were  carefully  barred 
against  intrusion  and  everything  arranged. 

Daisy's  body  was  removed  to  an  easy  chair,  a  dressing  gown 
thrown  over  the  habilaments  of  the  grave,  and  the  curtains  drop- 
ped over  that  portion  of  the  suite  of  rooms  which  suggested 
aught  of  death.  Saunders  stood  guard  over  the  bolted  doors  lest 
any  sound  from  without  should  reach  those  ears  which  were  about 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  227 

to  be  awakened  from  deafness  of  death,  and  Janet  stood 
near  at  hand  with  all  necessary  appliances,  while  Dr.  Van  Val- 
kenburg,  having  bared  the  arms  of  both  to  the  shoulders,  opened 
the  veins  of  each  and  infused  into  those  of  Daisy  the  healthy 
blood  of  her  devoted  lover. 

Then  he  and  Janet  drew  back  out  of  sight  and  awaited  the 
issue  with  bated  breath.  This  was  marvelous.  They  had  scarcely 
gained  their  places  when  Daisy's  eyes  slowly  opened,  and  rested 
in  astonishment  upon  those  of  her  smiling  fiance.  But  so  terrible 
was  the  anguish  of  this  look  which  had  been  caught  and  held,  as 
it  were,  by  that  death-stroke,  that  it  was  with  difficulty  Willis  re- 
pressed a  cry  of  horror,  and  answered  with  an  encouraging  smile. 

"A  pretty  way  to  receive  me,  is  it  not,  Little  Sleepy-Head? 
And  that  after  not  writing  to  me  once  during  all  these  months 
absence.  I  felt  compelled  to  run  away  in  the  middle  of  my 
school-term  to  find  out  what  was  the  matter  with  you." 

And  Daisy  never  knew  that  the  letter  of  explanation  of 
Willis's  hurried  flight  which  he  had  entrusted  to  his  father  to 
be  delivered  to  her,  but  which  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  had  persuaded  him 
to  give  to  her  to  destroy  instead,  declaring  that  Willis's  lady- 
love was  an  impossible  person  for  their  son  to  wed,  had  not  sim- 
ply been  lost.  And  Willis  thought  "What  if  that  terrible  look 
had  been  indelibly  impressed  upon  that  sweet  face  as  a  testimony 
against  his  mother  upon  the  Judgment  Day,"  but  he  only  smiled 
into  the  questioning  eyes  and  answered  teasingly  all  that  her 
questioning  lips  asked  of  him. 

Daisy  did  not  then  nor  ever  after  know  of  the  many  hours 
which  had  been  a  blank  to  her. 

Willis  said :  "I  found  you  in  a  dead  faint,  a  pretty  way  in 
which  to  greet  my  return  and  the  nearest  physician  was  sum- 
moned to  bring  you  to  a  proper  regard  for  yourself  and  your 
betrothed.  He  is  a  total  stranger  to  you,  but  you  must  bid  him 
welcome  for  he  is  the  very  best  fellow  alive  and  is  my  brother." 

' '  And  mine, ' '  said  Daisy,  and  she  put  up  her  lips,  and  taking 
the  Doctor's  face  between  her  hands,  kissed  him  after  the 
foreign  fashion,  saying  in  acknowledgment  of  Willis's  intro- 
duction of  Dr.  Herman  Van  Valkenburg:  "Mein  Herman, 
Mein." 

' '  Truly, ' '  said  the  young  doctor :  ' '  Truly  my  lines  have  fal- 
len in  pleasant  places.  We  reach  Paradise  only  through  patient 


228  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

suffering,  but  it  is  worth  more  of  this  than  I  have  undergone  to 
have  been  brought  to  you,  my  children." 

Then  Daisy's  eyes  closed  in  sleep,  and  the  Doctor  nodded 
approvingly  to  the  young  man  saying:  "That  is  well.  She  is 
now  out  of  all  danger." 

' '  And  now, ' '  said  'Willis,  ' '  If  you  will  dress  my  arm,  I  will 
send  you  to  finish  your  day's  good  work  by  going  to  make  my 
peace  with  my  mother." 

"Your  arm,"  cried  the  Doctor  in  horror:  "Why  surely  I 
could  not  have  left  it  uncared  for  for  so  long  a  time. ' ' 

"No  matter,"  was  the  answer.  "I  am  young  and  strong 
and  a  little  blood-letting  will  not  hurt  me.  Besides  I  wound  my 
handkerchief  tightly  about  it  at  the  first. ' ' 

But  Dr.  Van  Valkenburg  looked  very  grave.  "I  trust  that 
you  may  not  suffer  through  my  neglect.  In  watching  over  the 
one  precious  life,  I  forgot  the  second  so  indispensable  to  it. ' ' 

The  wound  carefully  dressed,  Willis  begged  him  to  go  to 
his  parents  at  once,  telling  him  frankly  all  that  had  passed  at  his 
home  upon  that  terrible  morning. 

The  doctor  just  as  frankly  confessed  his  own  impoverished 
condition,  as  an  objection  to  his  presenting  himself  at  the  St. 
Aubyn  House  at  that  late  hour. 

Willis  was  wise  beyond  his  years.    Grasping  the  situation  at 
once  he  called  to  Saunders  and  bade  him  accompany  Dr.  Van 
Valkenburg  to  his  own  tailor,  and  have  him  duly  equipped  for 
the  mission. 

All  objections  were  over-ruled  and  an  hour  later  Dr.  Van 
Valkenburg  was  closeted  with  Governor  St.  Aubyn,  and  later  in- 
troduced into  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn 's  chamber;  and,  oddly  enough,  he 
and  that  proud  lady  took  a  mutual  liking  each  to  the  other,  and 
that  liking  deepened  and  found  strength  and  lasted  throughout 
their  future  lives. 

After  he  had  presented  Willis's  apology  to  his  humbled 
mother,  telling  her  that  he  would  spend  the  night  watching  over 
his  betrothed,  and  would  return  home  in  the  morning  to  make 
his  peace  with  her  in  person,  the  doctor  sat  down  near  her  bed- 
side to  note  the  effects  of  the  opiate  which  he  had  just  ad- 
ministered to  her.  The  door  opened  to  admit  the  two  eldest 
Misses  St.  Aubyn,  who  had  been  absent  throughout  the  entire 


A  MUSICAL   MYSTERY  229 

day,  and  in  returning  had  come  to  bid  their  mother  "Good 
night. ' ' 

' '  The  delay  was  unavoidable,  Mammy.  We  had  driven  out 
to  the  Hills,  and  when  we  returned  the  telegram  had  been  sent 
after  us,  and  in  consequence  it  was  hours  before  we  could  ascer- 
tain its  contents.  As  soon  as  we  found  that  it  was  a  summons 
home,  we  took  the  first  train,  and  here  we  are." 

This  breezy  girl  of  the  period,  Caroline  St.  Aubyn,  with  her 
satins  and  jewels,  and  dashing,  half-masculine  manners  was  a 
revelation  and  a  pleasing  revelation  at  that,  to  the  German  doc- 
tor with  his  stiff  old-fashioned,  courtly  manners,  which,  mixed 
with  professional  brusquerie,  were  widely  different  from  those 
of  this  nineteenth  century  American  young  lady. 

It  was  evident  that  Caroline  St.  Aubyn  was  aware  of  the 
somewhat  wondering  admiration  that  she  excited. 

When  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  fretfully  demanded  that  one  of  her 
daughters  should  read  her  to  sleep,  the  doctor  awoke  from  his 
astonishment  and  ordered  the  two  girls  from  the  room  with  true 
professional  abruptness,  declaring  that  he  himself  would  have 
the  honor  to  read  aloud  to  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  that  night,  and  Caro- 
line and  Grace,  who  listened  for  a  time  outside  the  door,  averred 
that  they  had  never  heard  so  musical  a  rendering  of  Goethe  and 
Schiller  as  was  given  by  this  raw-boned  German  doctor. 


230  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

CANTO  THE  TWENTY-EIGHTH. 
"SWEET  SPIRIT,  HEAR  MY  PRAYER." 

His  new  patient  now  asleep,  the  doctor  was  shown  through 
all  the  upper  chambers  of  the  house  by  the  worshipping  Saun- 
ders,  that  he  might  choose  from  among  them  the  apartment  which 
suited  him  best.  The  belief  was  firmly  fixed  in  the  mind  of  Wil- 
lis's  valet  that  this  German,  with  his  strongly  marked  and  rugged 
features,  was  nothing  short  of  a  Prophet  who  had  wrought  a  mir- 
acle in  his  very  presence.  But  of  all  the  rooms  in  the  house, 
all  of  which  the  Governor  had  declared  were  at  his  service,  Dr. 
Van  Valkenburg  chose  to  sleep  in  Willis's  own  chamber  at  least 
for  that  night.  His  taste  was  gratified  more  by  its  simple  fur- 
nishings than  by  the  elegance  of  the  rest  of  the  house. 

The  doctor  prowled  about,  delighted  with  what  he  saw.  In 
everything  were  indications  of  the  boy's  purity  of  thought  and 
habit,  and  the  source  of  their  inspiration. 

Searching  for  a  book,  that  he  might  read  a  quiet  chapter  be- 
fore retiring,  the  doctor  found  upon  the  book  shelves  only  the 
good  and  true  and  beautiful,  while  heaped  upon  the  floor  of  the 
closet  in  which  he  had  found  a  pair  of  gorgeously  embroidered 
slippers  that  fitted  even  his  long  extremities,  (there  were  slip- 
pers here  of  all  sizes  and  patterns,  for,  as  Saunders  explained,  the 
sisters  bestowed  each  a  pair  at  Christmas  upon  their  brothers 
without  regard  to  anything  but  the  decorations)  he  found 
"Camille"  and  like  literature  cast  aside  with  most  of  the  leaves 
still  uncut.  Upon  retiring  he  found,  looking  down  upon  him 
from  the  wall,  at  the  foot  of  the  snowy  bed,  a  beautiful  full- 
length  portrait  of  Daisy  Zorlange,  whose  presence  seemed  to  per- 
vade everything  in  the  apartment  like  some  sweet  holy  spirit 
whose  presence  is  felt  without  being  seen;  and  by  its  side,  the 
frames  intertwined  by  a  wreath  of  flowers  and  joined  by  a  true 
lover's  knot,  was  one  of  Willis  himself. 

Saunders  served  the  doctor  with  a  hot  brandy  sling,  and  as 
he  regaled  himself,  told  anecdotes  of  the  young  lovers.  Saunders 
rejoiced  greatly  that  his  young  master  had  found  this  friend  and 
ally,  and  when  watching  later  he  saw  the  gaunt,  long-limbed 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  231 

German  kneel  beside  his  bed  and  pray  like  a  little  child,  he 
thanked  God  once  more  that  He  had  raised  up  for  the  children 
to  whom  he  was  so  devoted,  this  new  friend. 

Next  morning  the  doctor  accompanied  Willis  upon  a  sort  of 
state  call  upon  his  mother.  This  over,  the  two  visited  the  Gover- 
nor in  his  private  office. 

Willis,  as  in  duty  bound,  offered  a  suitable  apology  for  the 
hard  words  he  had  used  the  previous  day.  But  his  father  knew 
that  had  not  Daisy  Zorlange  been  restored  to  life  by  a  miracle,  as 
it  were — a  miracle  wrought  by  this  stranger  in  spite  of  the  opposi- 
tion of  the  other  physicians,  he  would  have  lost  his  son  as  well. 

' '  My  son, ' '  he  said, ' '  I  very  much  regret  the  breach  of  trust 
of  which  you  accused  me.  I  admit  my  guilt.  But  these  you  know 
are  troublous  times  and  matters  of  state  press  heavily  upon  me. 
I  had  quite  forgotten  your  predeliction  for  the  lovely  little  Daisy, 
and  did  not  even  look  at  the  name  upon  your  letter  of  explana- 
tion, so  that  when  your  mother  represented  you  as  the  victim  of 
some  designing  damsel,  I  supposed  she  knew  whereof  she  spoke, 
and  after  some  urging  I  gave  the  letter  to  her.  But  now  I  most 
earnestly  entreat  you  to  pardon  me  for  this  and  all  other  acts  of 
mine  that  have  made  you  unhappy." 

Peace  and  good- will  once  more  established,  Willis  said:  "I 
am  under  age,  and  have  come  to  ask  your  consent  to  my  im- 
mediate marriage  with  Daisy  Zorlange." 

The  Governor  demurred,  and  used  every  argument  he  could 
think  of  to  dissuade  him  from  his  purpose ;  but  Willis  was  firm 
and  would  not  be  turned  aside.  ' '  I  will  not  risk  another  separa- 
tion. Another  misunderstanding  might  prove  her  death. " 

And  when  appeal  was  made  to  him,  Dr.  Van  Valkenburg 
sided  with  the  younger  man.  ' '  There  is  danger  to  the  maiden  in 
even  the  dread  of  another  separation.  They  are  very  young  it  is 
true,  but  their  affections  are  so  firmly  fixed  upon  each  other  that 
it  seems  to  me  it  would  be  an  unnecessary  cruelty  to  deny  the 
demand." 

The  Governor  with  a  heavy  sigh  gave  a  reluctant  consent 
under  condition  that  the  children  make  their  home  with  him. 

To  this  Willis  objected.  But  he  was  overruled  in  turn,  and 
under  the  promise  that  the  portion  of  the  house  which  might  re- 
mind Daisy  of  what  she  had  been  with  difficulty  persuaded  was 


232  LA  GRAN   QUIBIRA 

a  mere  nightmare,  should  be  altered,  that  she  might  not  recognize 
it,  and  that  they  be  permitted  to  take  for  their  domicile  that  part 
of  the  mansion  in  which  his  own  apartments  were  now  situated— 
that  is  to  say  the  upper  floor— and  be  cut  off  by  a  second  door- 
way from  the  remainder  of  the  house,  the  matter  was  settled. 

[END  OF  ACT  i.] 


A    CELEBRATED    TREE    IN    BIBLE    HISTORY. 

—[Courtesy    of    The    Pictoria 


A  MUSICAL   MYSTERY  233 

ACT  II. 

CANTO  THE  FIRST. 

"SO    MERRILY    CHIME    THE   WEDDING    BELLS/' 

There  was  a  quiet  noonday  wedding.  After  the  services  at 
the  church,  Willis  took  his  young  bride  home.  The  upper  floor 
of  the  St.  Aubyn  mansion  had  been  fitted  up  in  luxurious  style 
for  her  reception,  and  even  the  Governor,  who  objected  to  the 
plan,  confessed  that  this  was  the  handsomest  portion  of  the 
house. 

Daisy  was  extremely  shy  and  childish  in  many  ways.  The 
morning  after  the  wedding  she  and  Willis  came  down  to  the 
breakfast  room  to  find  the  remainder  of  the  family  already  at 
table.  Daisy  looked  about  her  rather  frightened  at  meeting  quiz- 
zical smiles  upon  every  side,  she  turned  and  shyly  hid  her  face 
upon  Willis's  breast.  But  a  whispered  word  from  him  caused 
her  to  raise  herself  with  an  assumption  of  matronly  dignity  that 
was  very  pretty  to  see.  Then  seating  herself  at  the  table  she 
plied  her  knife  and  fork  with  such  dainty  grace  as  to  attract  the 
approving  attention  of  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn,  who  could  never  teach 
her  two  youngest  daughters  to  be  anything  but  angular  and 
awkard  in  wielding  their  table  implements.  She  questioned  Wil- 
lis as  to  where  his  young  wife  could  have  acquired  her  dainty 
skill? 

Willis  stared  a  little,  then  smiled  and  said:  "That  sort  of 
thing  comes  naturally  to  some  people  you  know,"  and  Mrs.  St. 
Aubyn  glanced  with  a  sigh  toward  her  own  daughters,  wondering 
why  this  gift  had  not  been  bestowed  upon  them  as  well. 

Daisy  heeded  none  of  this  by-play  but  went  on  with  her 
breakfast  delighting  Pounds,  the  butler,  who  always  presided 
over  each  meal,  by  innocently  asking  for  the  table-sauces  to 
which  she  had  been  accustomed,  never  suspecting  the  absence 
from  the  table  of  what  she  considered  necessary  adjuncts  to  the 
salad  she  was  deftly  compounding. 

All  the  time  Daisy  was  casting  shy  and  wondering  glances 


234  LA  GRAN  QUIBIBA 

from  beneath  her  curling  eyelashes  at  Herbert  and  Caroline  St. 
Aubyn  whom  she  had  not  before  met,  they  having  been  detained 
from  the  wedding  ceremony  by  a  railway  accident  that  befell  the 
train  upon  which  they  were  making  their  way  home  from  a  visit 
to  some  relatives  in  the  far  East,  and  who  were  now  improving 
their  acquaintance  with  their  young  sister-in-law  by  making 
'Moues'  at  her  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  breakfast  table,  at 
the  farther  end  where  sat  the  Governor  and  Doctor  Van  Valken- 
burg  deep  in  some  political  discussion  of  the  day.  All  at  once 
it  dawned  upon  Daisy's  mind  that  these  unusual  demonstrations 
were  merely  meant  as  friendly  overtures  and  she  flashed  back  at 
them  one  of  those  rarely  beautiful  smiles  which  were  wont  to 
dazzle  all,  and  which  had  the  effect  of  making  the  two  who  were 
teasing  her  cast  a  hasty  look  of  wonder  into  each  other 's  eyes  and 
cause  Herbert  to  hastily  shade  his  eyes,  as  from  the  intolerable 
glare  of  a  dazzling  sunbeam.  Then  seeing  that  the  young  girl 
was  frightened  by  their  actions,  both  hastened  to  reassure  her  by 
encouraging  smiles  and  kisses  thrown  from  their  places  which 
were  too  remote  to  admit  of  conversation  without  interrupting 
the  discussion  between  the  Governor  and  his  new-found  friend, 
who  however  lost  nothing  of  this  pretty  pantomime  and  rejoiced 
much  that  Daisy  had  found  friends  among  the  St.  Aubyn  family. 

After  breakfast  Herbert  and  Caroline  laid  in  wait  for  Willis 
and  his  bride  in  the  corridor  and  drew  them  into  a  pretty  parlor 
near  by,  for  the  purpose,  as  they  declared,  of  "Getting  ac- 
quainted with  their  new  sister." 

Caroline  folded  the  young  wife  close  to  her  heart,  saying: 
' '  Oh,  Willis,  how  I  thank  you  for  bringing  so  sweet  and  lovely  a 
creature  to  us.  She  is  like  a  fresh  mountain  breeze  or  a  dazzling 
bit  of  sunshine.  I  was  just  at  that  stage  of  "ennui"  where  if 
some  change  in  the  monotony  of  my  existence  had  not  been  made, 
I  dare  say  I  should  have  committed  another  impropriety.  Oh, 
you  need  not  fear,"  she  added  seeing  Willis's  anxious  look.  "I 
only  required  a  new  sensation  to  quell  my  propensity  for  evil  and 
you  have  given  this  to  me  in  Daisy.  Who  could  think  of  evil 
deeds  with  those  sweet  eyes  upon  them  ?  Not  I,  at  least. ' '  And 
she  kissed  the  happy  young  bride  again  and  yet  again,  until  Her- 
bert expostulated,  saying  that  she  was  very  selfish  to  absorb  all 
their  new  sister's  attention  and  demanded  his  own  right  to  salute 
the  fair  bride. 

Daisy  drew  back  startled  from  his  kiss,  gazing  at  him  with 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  235 

wide  reproachful  eyes  as  she  said,  "Thou  hast  been  drinking, 
brother,"  then  flushed  deeply  as  she  hesitatingly  added:  "But 
of  course  thou  must  be  ill." 

"Yes,"  replied  Herbert.  "I  have  been  ill.  Very  ill  indeed. 
But  I  am  cured  now.  You  shall  never  shrink  from  me  again, 
Little  Sunbeam,  because  you  scent  liquor  on  my  breath.  From 
this  time  I  eschew  the  habit." 

"Do  you  mean  it  brother?"  questioned  Willis  anxiously,  as 
Daisy  with  a  pretty  apology  turned  again  to  Caroline  whom  with 
her  customary  tendency  to  rechristen  everything  and  everybody, 
she  called  "Carlie." 

"But  Herbert,"  repeated  Willis.  "Did  you  really  and  truly 
mean  to  promise  what  you  said  just  now  1 ' ' 

"I  did  indeed,"  he  said  again.  "If  the  smell  of  liquor  is 
distasteful  to  my  lovely  little  sister,  I  will  not  so  offend  her  again, 
for  I  hope  to  kiss  those  rosy  lips  many  times— that  is,  if  you  do 
not  jealously  object.  By  Jove !  That  was  the  pithiest  temper- 
ance lecture  I  ever  received.  But  Willis,  to  what  heights  did  you 
climb  from  which  to  pluck  that  bit  of  ' '  Idelweiss  1 ' ' 

"I  found  it  upon  my  own  level,"  was  the  smiling  reply. 
"Daisy  and  I  are  too  firmly  knitted  together  for  me  to  have  any 
room  for  jealousy.  So  you  may  kiss  her  as  much  as  you  like,  and 
she  permits.  I  am  very  pleased  that  she  should  have  found 
friends  in  you  and  Caroline.  She  will  need  them  here  I  fear. 
Mammy  is  so  unreasonably  prejudiced  against  her,  and  Grace  and 
Dell  are  so  tied  to  Mammy's  apronstrings  that  I  am  afraid  they 
will  make  life  unpleasant  to  her  here." 

"Never  fear,  old  boy.  Mammy  is  a  sensible  woman  in  spite 
of  her  many  foibles,  and  take  my  word  for  it,  she  cannot  hold  out 
against  Daisy's  winning  ways  for  long.  Believe  me,  things  will 
right  themselves  in  time.  You  have  been  such  a  good  and  just 
brother  to  me  throughout  all  this  period  of  disgrace  that  I  can- 
not but  prophesy  good  to  you  in  return." 

"Thank  you,  Herbert,"  said  Willis,  grasping  and  warmly 
pressing  his  brother's  hand.  "I  felt  that  it  ill  became  your 
younger  brother  to  reproach  you  for  what  I  could  well  perceive 
was  but  the  sowing  of  your  legitimate  crop  of  ' '  Wild  Oats, ' '  and 
not  the  establishing  of  a  lifelong  evil  habit."  And  he  raised  his 
lips  for  the  kiss  which  it  was  the  quaint,  odd  habit  of  the  male 


236  LA  GRAN   QUIBIRA 

members  of  the  St.  Aubyn  family  to  exchange— a  custom  which 
sat  well  upon  them  where  it  would  have  seemed  ridiculous  in 
others. 

Caroline  sent  for  garden  hats  and  cushions  and  the  four 
spent  the  greater  part  of  the  day  in  the  grounds,  having  their 
lunch  served  in  the  arbor  and  cemented  the  life-long  love  that 
sprang  up  between  the  brother  and  sister  and  Willis's  bride. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  237 

CANTO  THE  SECOND. 

"A   MARRIED   ' DEBUTANTE.'  " 

It  was  the  habit  of  Governor  St.  Aubyn,  besides  the  custom- 
ary levees,  to  give  a  grand  ball  each  year.  This  was  usually  at 
the  close  of  the  Season.  But  this  year  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  declared 
that  it  should  occur  at  the  commencement  of  the  Winter's  festivi- 
ties, combining  with  the  ball  the  expected  wedding  reception, 
for  Daisy's  health  had  made  quiet  necessary  and  the  customary 
reception  had  been  long  delayed. 

"What  will  you  wear?"  asked  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  of  Daisy, 
who  answered  mischievously:  "My  wedding  dress,  to  be  sure, 
veil,  orange-blossoms  and  all." 

"The  veil!    How  absurd,"  said  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn. 

But  Daisy  persisted;  nor  would  she  permit  her  mother-in- 
law  to  see  the  alterations  she  was  making  in  the  costume.  And 
when  she  found  that  the  good  lady  was  much  exercised  over  the 
matter,  she  swore  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn 's  maid,  whom  she  had  im- 
pressed into  service  to  secrecy. 

"Do  not  worry  about  Daisy's  toilette,  Mammy.  Daisy  is 
proverbial  for  her  good  taste  in  dress,"  comforted  Willis.  "She 
is  certain  to  be  the  best  dressed  lady  in  the  rooms." 

Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  heaved  a  sigh  of  relief  and  of  pleased  ad- 
miration, when  Daisy  made  her  appearance  upon  the  night  of  the 
grand  ball,  and  in  answer  to  Daisy's  roguish  question  of:  "Will 
my  dress  do,  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn?"  She  stooped  and  for  the  first 
time  kissed  the  forehead  of  the  lovely  "Debutante,"  saying: 
"Both  you  and  your  dress  are  faultlessly  beautiful,  my  dear." 

Daisy  had  indeed,  as  she  had  threatened,  donned  all  of  her 
wedding  paraphernalia,  but  had  not,  as  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  dreaded, 
had  the  bad  taste  to  wear  the  obnoxious  veil  as  a  veil,  but  had 
converted  it  into  a  most  stylish  over-skirt  looped  up  and  held  in 
place  by  the  proverbial  orange-blossoms,  while  her  hair,  upon 
which  she  had  intimated  that  she  would  wear  the  wreath  of  the 
same  blossoms,  was  adorned  only  by  a  pin  or  two  of  pearl,  while 
upon  her  throat  and  wrists  were  twisted  innumerable  strands  of 
the  same  costly  gems. 


238  LA  GRAN   QUIBIRA 

Mrs.  St.  Aubyn,  noting  for  the  first  time  the  extreme  rich- 
ness of  the  costume  and  ornaments,  thought  that  the  whole  costly 
dress  must  have  been  the  present  of  the  Governor  himself,  and  no 
one  took  the  trouble  to  enlighten  her  upon  this  point. 

When  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  offered  to  drill  Daisy  in  the  part  she 
was  expected  to  take  in  this,  her  first  society  ball,  Willis  had 
promptly  interfered,  saying:  "Daisy's  simple  manners  are  per- 
fect. I  will  not  have  them  spoiled  by  that  self -consciousness 
which  would  be  the  inevitable  result  of  your  proposed  drill." 

So  Daisy  took  her  station  by  the  side  of  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn,  in 
unschooled  innocence  of  the  requirements  of  "Polite  Society." 

Daisy  only  committed  two  serious  blunders  during  the  even- 
ing, although  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  had  more  than  once  looked  horri- 
fied during  the  state  reception,  and  introductions  to  the  bride, 
which  Daisy  acknowledged  in  her  own  original  way. 

When  Howard  Gould  was  announced,  Daisy  stepped  for- 
ward to  meet  her  old  friend  and  put  up  her  lips  for  the  accus- 
tomed kiss,  for  Howard  had  been  absent  for  many  months  and 
Daisy  had  not  seen  him  since  his  return ;  and  Howard,  who  would 
rather  have  offended  the  sensibilities  of  the  whole  fashionable 
world,  than  to  have  caused  Daisy  one  single  pang  of  mortifica- 
tion, kissed  her  in  a  matter-of-fact  manner  and  stepped  forward 
to  where  Willis  stood  to  offer  him  his  congratulations. 

Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  drew  back  greatly  horrified  at  this  direlic- 
tion  from  good  manners  and  good  taste,  and  to  screen  her  from 
that  tell-tale  look  upon  her  mother's  face,  Caroline  stepped  into 
her  place  at  Daisy's  side. 

Lady  Blanksmere,  the  lioness  par-excellence  of  the  evening, 
who  had  fallen  in  love  with  the  young  bride,  whom  she  declared 
to  be  "The  loveliest  creature  the  sun  ever  shone  upon,"  and  who 
had  begged  the  privilege  of  stationing  herself  near  the  family 
that  she  might  the  better  watch  the  ever-changing  expression 
upon  the  sweet  face,  laughed  outright,  saying  to  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn, 
with  an  indulgent  smile;  "A  relative  of  our  Little  Beauty,  I 
presume,"  and  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  assented. 

Daisy  glanced  hastily  around,  feeling  that  she  must  have 
committed  an  impropriety;  but  every  one  smiled  encouragingly 
and  she  heaved  a  self-satisfied  little  sigh,  as  she  turned  to  re- 
spond to  the  greeting  of  another  new  comer. 

This  was  too  much  for  Caroline's  self-control,  and  she  drew 
hastily  back  lest  Daisy  should  be  mortified  by  her  evident  amuse- 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  239 

ment.  Dr.  Herman  met  her,  smiling  too,  as  he  said :  "  I  am  glad 
that  our  frail  little  blossom  of  a  bride  has  found  a  friend  in  you, 
Miss  St.  Aubyn.  You  are  fond  of  her  I  see. ' ' 

' '  I  love  Daisy  with  all  my  heart, ' '  replied  Caroline  heartily. 
"She  is  like  a  breath  of  warm  Sunshine  to  me.  I  was  in  a  sad 
state  of  rebellion  when  she  came  to  us,  and  would  probably  have 
committed  some  indiscretion  as  I  am  wont  to  do.  But  now  I 
never  tire.  I  find  plenty  of  occupation  in  watching  and  study- 
ing her  sweet  character.  And,"  she  added  with  a  blush,  "I  am 
wondering  what  that  indiscretion  would  have  been,  had  I  been 
left  to  commit  it. ' ' 

All  went  on  smoothly  enough  until  Mrs.  Cavendish  and  her 
niece,  Lillian,  were  announced.  Then  Daisy  after  a  state  courtsey 
to  the  elder  lady  put  out  both  hands  to  Lillian,  exclaiming:  "Oh, 
how  beautiful  thou  art.  Thou  art  certainly  the  most  beautiful 
woman  in  all  the  world." 

Lillian  Cavendish  acknowledged  this  rather  openly  expressed 
compliment,  leaving  Daisy  with  the  crestfallen  impression  upon 
her,  of  "having  put  her  foot  in  it"  for  the  second  time. 

The  ball  was  an  immense  success.  How  it  came  about  that 
the  dashing  Captain  Frazer,  with  whose  name  that  of  Caroline 
St.  Aubyn  had  been  somewhat  scandalously  associated,  came  to 
be  present  did  not  transpire.  He  had  not  been  invited  to  the 
reception  ball;  yet  there  he  was.  Possibly  he  had  thought  it  a 
public  levee,  and  now  he  had  the  audacity  to  pay  open  court  to 
Miss  St.  Aubyn,  and  through  her  to  ask  an  introduction  to  the 
younger  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn.  This  could  not  of  course  be  refused, 
but  the  hot  blood  mantled  her  face  at  the  lustful  glances  he  cast 
upon  her  young  sister,  and  Caroline  understood  for  the  first  time 
what  a  narrow  escape  she  had  had  from  his  wooing. 

Catching  the  grave  and  reverent  expression  in  the  eyes  of 
Dr.  Van  Valkenburg  Caroline  crossed  over  to  him  wondering  how 
the  dashing  Captain  could  ever  have  gained  the  influence  over  her 
he  had  possessed  in  former  days,  which  had  well-nigh  worked  her 
social  ruin. 

"The  brute,"  she  said  aside.  "How  dare  he  cast  such  a  look 
upon  our  sweet  Daisy  ? ' ' 

The  ball  was  a  grand  success.  Emil  Zorlange  was  at  his 
daughter's  wedding  ball,  and  all  there  were  charmed  with  his 
erudition  and  old-fashioned  Court  manners.  Lady  Blanksmere 


240  LA   GEAN    QUIBIBA 

discovered  in  him  an  old  friend  of  her  youthful  days,  and  kept 
him  as  much  as  possible  by  her  side  with  loud  praises  of  his 
daughter's  grace  and  beauty. 

Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  was  in  a  maze  of  wonder  at  the  unqualified 
admiration  excited  by  her  daughter-in-law,  whom  she  really 
hated,  and  with  whom  she  still  thought  her  favorite  son  had  con- 
tracted a  "mesalliance."  Yet  she  had  tried  hard  not  to  show 
this  aversion  to  Daisy  herself;  having  been  warned  of  the  harm 
it  would  do  her  should  Daisy  suspect  that  the  tragedy  in  which 
she  had  taken  so  prominent  a  part,  had  been  a  reality,  instead  of 
the  dream  she  had  been  convinced  that  it  was.  This  had  worked 
a  vast  improvement  in  the  elder  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn 's  temper. 

Daisy  proved  herself  a  model  hostess.  She  was  seen  every- 
where and  I  think  there  was  no  one  in  these  crowded  rooms  that 
she  could  not  call  by  name,  for  that  was  one  of  the  subtle  flatter- 
ies used  by  her — that  she  never  forgot  the  personality  of  others. 
She  laughed  and  chatted  with  all ;  winning  golden  laurels  for  her- 
self; and  best  of  all  she  was  indefatigable  in  providing  part- 
ners in  the  dance  for  the  wall-flowers.  There  was  one  young 
lady,  however,  who  resisted  all  her  cajoleries  and  sat  in  sullen 
discontent  bolt  upright  against  the  wall.  Daisy  had  gone  to  her 
several  times,  and  had  watched  her  from  a  distance.  At  length 
the  problem  seemed  to  solve  itself,  and  the  puzzled  cloud  cleared 
from  her  face;  then  to  their  amazement,  Willis  and  Howard 
Gould,  who  stood  together  watching  as  usual  every  movement  of 
the  one  whom  they  loved  so  devotedly,  saw  Daisy  deliberately 
cross  the  room  and  stealing  softly  up  behind  Georgia  Sheldon, 
the  sullen  young  lady,  pull  out  the  comb  that  held  her  mass  of 
tawny  hair  in  place ;  then  whispering  to  her  the  two  left  the  ball- 
room together,  Georgia  looking  as  if  she  would  like  the  floor  to 
open  and  swallow  her,  so  great  was  her  confusion  and  chagrin  at 
the  mishap. 

Willis  said  angrily:  "I  never  knew  Daisy  to  do  a  really  un- 
kind act  before. ' ' 

"Nor  I,"  echoed  Howard;  but  added,  seeing  the  angry 
frown  upon  Willis's  brow.  "Do  not  be  unkind  to  her  because  of 
it,  Willis.  Remember  that  she  has  been  ill  and  cannot  bear  cor- 
rection, from  you  at  least.  Besides,"  with  a  sort  of  inspiration, 
"Who  knows  that  she  did  not  mean  in  some  way  to  be  kind  to 
poor  Georgia?" 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  241 

But  the  scowl  only  deepened  upon  Willis's  face;  he  could 
find  no  excuse  for  the  action. 

More  than  one  smiled  at  the  contrast  as  the  two  girls  left 
the  ball-room  in  company — Daisy  was  so  fair  and  sweet  a  creature 
to  look  upon,  so  full  of  graceful  unconsciousness ;  while  Georgia 
seemed  by  contrast  so  awkward,  and  so  gawky  and  ill  at  ease. 

When  they  quitted  the  ball-room,  the  two  made  their  way  up 
to  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn's  dressing-room,  for  Daisy  wanted  the  assis- 
tance of  Hortense  in  her  scheme  to  'make  over'  this  gawky  young 
woman  into  something  attractive  and  pretty.  Daisy  had  always 
an  eye  for  possibilities,  and  she  recognized  those  she  saw  in 
Georgia  Sheldon,  who  if  not  really  handsome,  was  yet  of  ex- 
tremely good  form  and  carriage. 

"Thou  couldst  not  have  chosen  a  more  unbecoming  color 
than  that  gray  satin,  which  is,  however,  wonderfully  rich  in  tex- 
ture and  handsomely  made." 

"It  was  Grandma's  fault.  She  calls  me  her  'Ugly  Duckling' 
and  says  that  it  does  not  matter  what  I  wear.  I  thought  I  should 
die  of  shame  when  I  found  that  I  was  the  only  dowdy  in  the  room. 
It  is  my  first  ball.  I  am  just  out  of  school,  you  know,  and  am 
not  up  to  these  things  yet.  I  had  anticipated  great  pleasure,  but 
it  was  all  spoiled  by  my  consciousness  of  being  unbecomingly 
dressed.  I  would  not  for  the  world  have  gone  upon  the  floor, 
and  I  am  so  found  of  dancing. ' ' 

' '  And  I  '11  wager  that  thou  art  the  best  dancer  in  the  rooms, ' ' 
replied  Daisy,  as  she  tucked  up  the  offending  gray  satin  to  short 
dancing  length.  "And  thou  only  wantest  a  little  livening  up 
to  make  thee  the  best  dressed  girl  there  as  well.  I  promise  thee 
that  when  thou  comest  out  from  under  my  hands  thou  wilt  be  as 
eager  to  display  thyself,  as  thou  wert  to  hide  before."  She 
draped  a  black  lace  scarf  loosely  over  the  shining  grey  with  al- 
most magic  effect,  while  she  said:  "Hortense,  what  a  wealth  of 
hair.  Do  it  up  very  high,  a  la  Pompadour,  with  one  loose  ringlet 
at  the  left  side  and  it  will  be  superb.  And  now  for  the  flowers. 
What  will  be  the  most  becoming  to  her  mixed  with  those  scarlet 
geraniums  which  are  too  gaudy  by  themselves?  Ah,  I  have  it. 
Cut  me  some  sprigs  of  purple  heliotrope,  Hortense." 

But  at  this  Hortense  rebelled.  "Ze  purple  and  ze  red,"  she 
argued,  "Zat  is  ze  taste  abominable." 

"Do  as  thou  art  bidden,  Hortense,  and  keep  still.  I  should 
like  to  see  that  person  who  has  the  audacity  to  question  my  good 


242  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

taste  in  dress,  and  I  say  that  nothing  will  relieve  the  sallowness 
of  Miss  Sheldon's  complexion  but  the  blending  of  these  two 
colors. ' ' 

And  Hortense  obeyed  with  a  suggestive  shrug  of  the  should- 
ers, while  Georgia  looked  alarmed,  and  instead  of  noting  the  effect 
of  her  adornment  in  the  mirror  she  stared  at  that  anomaly  of 
those  times,  "The  French  Maid"  to  note  the  effect  upon  that 
brown  and  wizened  face.  But  she  was  none  the  wiser  for  that, 
for  Hortense  stood  in  a  highly  dramatic  posture,  her  eyes  half 
shut,  her  head  on  one  side,  and  her  lips  puckered  up  in  an  incred- 
ulous smile,  while  she  hissed  through  her  teeth  without  unclosing 
them:  "Ze  red  and  ze  purple.  It  is  abominable." 

At  this  Daisy  only  laughed  while  she  knotted  several  bunches 
of  the  flowers  together,  and  as  she  expressed  it:  "Just 
'tossed'  them  carelessly  over  Georgia,"  catching  them  here  and 
there  over  the  completed  toilette.  Then  she  said:  "Now  thou 
wilt  be  just  perfect  when  thou  hast  lighted  up ;  but  that  thou 
must  do  thyself.  Look  into  the  mirror.  Thou  wilt  never  accom- 
plish the  purpose  by  staring  at  that  fright  of  a  Hortense,  who  is 
simply  green  with  jealousy  at  my  superior  taste  which  is  purely 
Yankee  and  not  French. ' ' 

Hortence  murmured  through  her  clinched  teeth :  "  It  is  what 
you  call  it.  It  is  marvelous.  It  is  ze  fairy  fingers  zat  you  have. 
No  mortal  could  so  combine  ze  colors.  Ze  purple  and  ze  red, 
bah." 

Georgia  looked  into  the  mirror  as  she  was  bidden  and  "lit 
up."  A  smile  of  real  pleasure  gave  alP  that  was  lacking  to  the 
tout  ensemble.  The  two  then  made  their  way  back  to  the  ball- 
room, Georgia  looking  as  little  like  the  dowdyish  young  lady  who 
had  left  it  a  short  half-hour  before,  in  a  fit  of  the  sulks,  as  could 
well  be  imagined. 

The  cloud  lifted  suddenly  from  Willis  St.  Aubyn's  brow  as 
the  two  re-entered  the  ball-room,  and  he  and  Howard  exchanged 
smiles  of  mingled  amusement  and  relief. 

' '  I  might  have  known, ' '  said  Willis,  ' '  that  Daisy  was  incap- 
able of  an  unkind  act.    I  suppose  that  it  was  a  'Dernier  resort.' 
Howard  you  are  more  worthy  of  her  than  I,  evil-minded  wretch 
that  I  am.     But  come.     It  is  easy  to  interpret  that  beseeching 
look.    Daisy  wishs  now  to  show  off  her  protege.  Come ! ' '  and  the 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  243 

two  hastened  forward.  Inspecting  Georgia's  tablet  Willis  said: 
"Ah!  The  next  number  is  a  waltz.  I  am  very  sorry,  but  Dr. 
Van  Valkenburg  has  forbidden  me  the  round  dances  for  the 
night,  so  I  must  be  contented  with  the  next  quadrille,"  and  he 
wrote  his  name  against  that  number. 

"Which  happily  leaves  the  waltz  free  for  me.  And  I  feel 
myself  equal  to  innumerable  whirls,"  said  Howard,  and  the  two 
spun  away  together. 

"They  are  by  all  odds  the  two  best  dancers  in  the  room," 
admitted  Willis.  "What  a  miracle  you  worked  in  that  girl's  be- 
half, Daisy.  How  did  you  manage  it?" 

But  Daisy  flatly  refused  to  reveal  any  of  the  secrets  of  the 
feminine  toilet,  and  said:  "How  beautifully  they  step  together. 
She  is  such  a  charming  girl  that  I  do  hope  Howard  will  fall 
in  love  with  her. ' ' 

' '  See  here  Daisy.  I  know  you  are  an  inveterate  match-maker 
but  I  beg  that  you  will  not  offend  our  old  friend  by  selecting  any- 
one for  him.  At  least  not  just  yet.  You  see, ' '  he  added,  noting  her 
air  of  resolution,  "Howard  has  just  had  a  disappointment  in 
love,  and  is  extremely  sore  upon  that  question  at  present. ' ' 

"I  do  not  believe  it,"  was  Daisy's  response,  "Why  Howard 
never  has  looked  at  any  girl  but  me,  and  of  course — ' '  She  stop- 
ped and  gazed  into  the  face  of  Willis  in  sudden  alarm.  And  the 
expression  she  met  there  answered  her  plainer  than  words  could 
have  done. 

"Yes,"  said  Willis  at  length.  "I  would  not  have  told  you 
but  I  feared  that  you  might  wound  him  further  by  urging  some 
sweetheart  upon  him." 

Daisy  laughed,  "Thou  art  too  absurd,  Willis.  Howard 
never  in  his  life  made  love  to  me.  Thou  art  too  vain  by  half. 
But  I  will  not  say  one  word  to  him  of  Georgia  Sheldon  or  any 
other  girl  if  thou  dost  not  wish  me  to,  for  fear — ,"  and  she 
laughed  again  archly. 

The  ball  was  a  grand  success.  The  young  married 
couple,  "The  Debutantes"  as  Daisy  christened  herself  and 
Willis,  were  the  successes  of  the  evening.  Everywhere  one  heard 
them  praised  for  their  beauty,  grace  and  brightness. 

When  Daisy  had  been  relieved  from  the  duty  of  receiving 
her  guests,  she  had  searched  the  rooms  until  she  found  Lillian 
Cavendish,  and  finding  her  seated  alone  she  had  gone  to  her  re- 


244  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

peating :  ' '  Thou  art  certainly  the  most  beautiful  of  created  be- 
ings. But  I  did  not  catch  thy  name.  Please  tell  it  me."  And 
when  told,  she  said:  "I  think  I  should  have  called  thee  my 
graceful  stately  'Calla  Lily'  without  knowing  it.  I  do  hope  that 
thou  wilt  like  me  and  be  my  friend."  And  the  stately  frozen 
Lillian  thawed  at  once,  and  promised,  saying  that  Daisy's  name 
suited  her  rather  better  than  did  her  own. 

Then  there  were  the  discussions  with  certain  diplomats  with 
whom  the  two  bright  children,  as  they  were  called,  held  their 
own  in  the  arguments,  and  it  was  deemed  a  triumph  indeed  when 
Daisy  completely  routed  the  irascible  authority,  Colonel  Ferris, 
who  was  as  delighted  with  his  own  defeat  as  were  the  rest,  and 
declared  that  he  had  never  known  so  bright  an  intelligence  com- 
bined with  so  youthful  and  so  beautiful  a  face. 

The  ball  was  a  grand  success. 

Late  in  the  evening  Daisy  was  persuaded  by  Caroline  to 
improvise  a  theme,  and  she  readily  acquired.  "My  First 
Ball,"  she  announced.  Then  gave  a  so  perfectly  rendered  de- 
scription of  the  hours  that  has  been  passed,  that  less  fortunate 
musicians  were  filled  with  envy  and  amazement,  for  Daisy  was 
perfect  mistress  of  the  Piano  Forte  and  her  powers  of  imitation 
were  truly  wonderful.  She  made  the  greatest  hit  when,  fixing 
her  eyes  laughingly  full  upon  the  hired  pianist  who  had  fur- 
nished some  of  the  music  of  the  evening,  to  point  her  meaning, 
she  began  to  bang  and  thump  and  to  make  inconceivable  runs. 
She  excited  the  applause  of  all  by  the  manner  in  which  she  copied 
his  exact  mannerisms  and  literally  '  Out  Heroded  Herod. '  Great 
was  the  laughter  when  the  pianist  himself  innocently  com- 
plimented her  and  said  that  he  would  be  the  happiest  man  on 
earth  if  he  could  acquire  such  skill  as  was  hers  in  making  swift 
runs. 

Daisy  was  growing  sleepy  and  ill-tempered  over  the  long- 
drawn-out  congratulations  and  adieux,  and  when  the  admiring 
Lady  Blanksmere  said  to  Willis :  ' '  The  lovely  little  blossom 
seems  frail  and  delicate.  You  must  take  the  very  best  of  care  of 
her  lest  you  lose  her  yet. ' '  Daisy  answered  crossly,  to  the  horror 
of  the  elder  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn,  who  stood  near;  "Why  don't  thee 
bid  him  take  care  of  himself.  Willis  is  not  well  although  no  one 
seems  to  see  it  but  me.  He  needs  care  more  than  I  do."  But 
Lady  Blanksmere  only  laughed  indulgently  and  patted  her  with 


A  MUSICAL   MYSTERY  245 

her  fan  as  she  kissed  the  pouting  lips  "good  night,"  repeating 
for  the  twentieth  time  that  she  was  the  loveliest  thing  she  had 
seen  since  her  own  girlhood. 

There  was  a  hot  flush  upon  Daisy's  face,  and  her  eyes  were 
wide  and  bright  with  excitement.  After  she  had  retired,  Willis 
hearing  her  uneasy  movements,  went  to  her  bedside  and  tried 
without  avail  to  quiet  her ;  when  in  came  Saunders  who  watched 
over  the  two  as  a  fond  nurse  over  her  charges,  bearing  a  glass  of 
steaming  hot  punch  which  he  insisted  upon  her  drinking.  This 
soon  quieted  her  and  the  faithful  fellow  made  Willis  drink  the 
second  one,  then  took  his  station  where  he  could  hear  every  move- 
ment in  the  chamber,  prepared  to  watch  over  his  dear  ones 
throughout  the  remainder  of  the  night. 

Yes,  the  ball  was  a  grand  success. 


246  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 


CANTO  THE  THIRD. 
"BIRDS  IN  THEIR  LITTLE  NESTS  AGREE." 

Next  morning  Daisy  was  up  betimes,  and  descended  to  the 
small  sitting-room  near  the  breakfast-parlor  where  she  sat  toast- 
ing her  feet  before  the  fire  in  the  open  grate,  deep  in  meditation. 
She  was  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  the  admiring  gaze  of  the  Gov- 
ernor himself  was  noting  every  change  of  expression  that  swept 
over  her  lovely  features,  from  behind  the  curtains  of  the  great 
bay  window.  Indeed  the  greatest  charm  of  Daisy's  beauty  was 
her  perfect  unconsciousness  that  she  possessed  it. 

Here  Willis  found  her  a  quarter  of  an  hour  later. 

"A  penny  for  your  thoughts,  Daisy.  But  why  did  you  run 
off  from  me?" 

"Willis,"  questioned  Daisy  abruptly,  "have  we — that  is 
have  you — any  money  of  your  own?  Or  are  we  entirely  depend- 
ent upon  your  family  for  our  support?" 

Willis  started  at  her.  "Why  you  mercenary  little  wretch," 
he  teased.  "I  thought  that  birds  and  blossoms  were  exempt 
from  all  monied  considerations.  A  penny  for  your  thoughts 
upon  this  subject,  Daisy." 

"But  my  thoughts  are  not  to  be  bought  for  so  paltry  a  sum. 
I  will  make  thee  a  present  of  them  instead.  But  Willis,  tell  me 
please  first  whether  we  are  dependent  for  our  support  upon  your 
Daddy?  I  want  so  much  to  have  a  home  of  our  own." 

"'Why  Daisy,"  questioned  Willis  anxiously:  "Are  you  not 
happy  here?  Are  they — is  my  father  not  kind  to  you?" 

The  Governor  leaned  forward  in  his  ambuscade,  and 
anxiously  awaited  her  reply. 

"Thou  art  a  regular  Yankee,  Willis.  Thou  answerest  one 
question  merely  by  asking  another.  '  Our '  Daddy  is  all  kindness 
to  me  and  I  am  very  happy  indeed,  but  I  am  tired  to  death  or 
expect  to  be  before  the  end  of  the  season,  of  this  unceasing  toil- 
ing after  pleasure.  Thou  and  I,  Willis,  are  but  half  educated, 
and  I  was  thinking — the  thought  really  occurred  to  me  while 
thou  wast  conversing  with  that  great  Statesman,  whose  name 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  247 

(now  may  I  be  pardoned  the  offense)  I  have  quite  forgotten— 
and  I  have  just  succeeded  in  working  it  out  to  a  satisfactory  con- 
clusion. Thou  must  become  a  Statesman  too,  and  follow  in  thy 
Daddy's  footsteeps.  Thou  looked  like  a  Greek  god,  Willis,  when 
thy  face  lighted  up  with  the  thought  to  which  thou  wast  giving 
expression.  Surely  we  need  not  be  at  an  intellectual  stand-still 
because  we  have  committed  the  pardonable  sin  of  marrying 
young. ' ' 

Willis  was  interested,  but  puzzled  too. 
"But  Daisy,  you  surely  would  not  have  me  enroll  myself 
among  the  other  boys  at  school?" 

"No,"  said  Daisy.  "It  always  did  seem  ridiculous  to  me 
for  a  married  man  to  attend  a  general  school;  and  besides,  I 
wish  to  keep  pace  with  thee  in  intellectual  acquirements,  and 
could  not  then  join  thee  in  thy  studies.  But  there  must  be  many 
highly  educated  professional  men  in  this  great  city  who  would 
gladly  undertake  the  task  of  teaching  us  at  our  home,  and  it  is 
about  the  means  of  procuring  that  home  that  I  have  asked  thee 
now  for  the  third  time  if  thou  hast  any  money  of  thy  own  with 
which  to  secure  the  quiet  and  isolation  required  for  serious 
study." 

' '  I  believe, ' '  said  Willis, ' '  That  I  am  the  lawful  possessor  in 
my  own  right  of  ten  thousand  dollars.  I  am  charmed  with  the 
idea  of  pursuing  our  studies,  Daisy.  But  why  not  remain  here? 
I  think  my  parents  will  be  much  displeased  if  we  do  not  do 

so." 

"They  spoil  us  too  much  here,  Willis.  Thy  mother  would 
entice  us  into  all  sorts  of  gaieties.  We  must  not  fritter  away 
our  lives  in  this  ceaseless  round  of  frivolities.  I  feel  that  there 
is  something  better  for  us  in  life  than  that.  So  we  will  remain 
here  to  please  them  during  all  the  remainder  of  this  season,  but 
when  it  is  ended  we  will  take  our  'ten  thousand'  and  make  for 
ourselves  an  independent  home,  and  fit  ourselves  the  better  to 
adorn  society  in  the  future." 

They  were  still  discussing  the  momentous  question  when 
summoned  to  the  breakfast  table. 

The  Governor  followed  them  from  the  room  saying:  "God 
bless  the  little  darling.  And  we  came  very  near  depriving  our 


248  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

boy  of  this  true  and  sensible  helpmate. ' '  And  as  he  entered  the 
breakfast  room  he  greeted  Daisy  with  a  kiss,  whispering:  "My 
best-beloved,"  a  title  which  he  bestowed  upon  her  ever  after. 
But  breakfast  over,  Dr.  Herman  promptly  ordered  Daisy 
back  to  her  own  apartments,  refusing  to  permit  her  to  leave 
them  for  that  day  at  least. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  249 

CANTO  THE  FOURTH. 
"ECHOES  FROM  THE  WEDDING  BELLS." 

The  day  after  the  grand  ball,  Daisy  was  confined  to  her 
own  apartments  by  order  of  Dr.  Herman.  In  the  afternoon 
Lillian  Cavendish  called,  and  by  mistake  was  shown  into  the 
boudoir  of  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  Senior,  to  whom  she  apologized  for 
her  early  and  unceremonious  call,  explaining  that  she  had  come 
at  the  request  of  Mrs.  Willis  St.  Aubyn  because  of  her  own 
hurried  departure  for  the  sunny  South. 

Lillian,  for  whom  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  had  a  great  admiration 
was  so  warm  in  her  praises  of  the  young  bride  and  was  in  such 
haste  to  improve  her  acquaintance  with  her  that  the  elder  Mrs. 
St.  Aubyn  began  to  thaw  toward  Willis's  wife,  wondering  if 
she  had  not  in  some  way  been  deceived  in  her  estimate  of  one 
who  had  won  the  love  not  only  of  the  stately  Lillian  Cavendish, 
for  whose  opinion  she  had  the  greatest  reverence,  but  also  of 
Lady  Blanksmere,  who  was  most  exclusive  in  the  selection  of  her 
friends,  and  of  everybody  else  who  had  attended  the  ball  and 
consequently  of  everybody  worth  knowing.  She  resolved  to  pay 
court  herself  to  her  son's  wife  and  to  study  her  well,  with  the 
really  generous  motive  of  liking  Daisy  if  she  could.  And  while 
she  thus  meditated,  Lillian  paid  her  visit  of  farewell  to  Daisy, 
in  whose  boudoir  she  found  not  only  Willis  and  Howard  Gould, 
but  the  Governor  and  Herbert  St.  Aubyn.  The  new  comer  had 
been  greeted  by  all,  when  Herbert  came  forward  claiming  old 
acquaintanceship.  Lillian  drew  back  from  the  proffered  hand, 
then  was  covered  with  confusion  as  he  said:  "You  need  not  fear 
to  take  my  hand.  I  am  in  sober  earnest  when  I  say  that  it  is  the 
hand  of  a  better  man  than  you  knew  me  to  be."  There  was  an 
unqualified  emphasis  upon  the  word  "sober"  which  caused  her  to 
cast  a  swift  glance  of  surprise  into  his  face,  and  the  stately  Lil- 
lian, whose  manners  were  usually  cold  as  polished  steel,  blushed 
deeply  and  held  out  her  hand  timidly  as  a  novice  might,  saying 
in  a  faltering  voice ;  "  I  beg  pardon.  I  am  very  pleased  to  meet 
you  again,  Mr.  St.  Aubyn." 

Not  one  item  of  this  by-play  was  lost  upon  Daisy,  who  whis- 


250  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

pered  to  Willis ;  ' '  Oh,  how  nice.  Herbert  and  Lillian  must  have 
been  lovers  once.  How  happy  I  shall  be  if  I  have  been  the  means 
of  reuniting  them." 

' '  Daisy,  you  are  an  investerate  match-maker. ' '  said  Howard, 
who  had  caught  the  low-spoken  words,  unwittingly  echoing  Wil- 
lis's words  of  the  previous  evening,  but  without  adding  the  warn- 
ing. "I  at  least  have  never  heard  of  any  tie  between  Herbert 
St.  Aubyn  and  Lillian  Cavendish,  although  they  must  perforce, 
belonging  to  the  same  society  set,  be  old  aquaintances. " 

Daisy's  keen  eyes  watched  the  two  and  her  keener  wit  sup- 
plied them  with  an  opportunity  for  exchanging  confidences.  She 
insisted  that  Lillian  must  have  a  bunch  of  those  rare  white  blos- 
soms for  which  they  could  find  no  name,  and  begged  that  she  and 
Herbert  would  get  them  as  she  herself  was  not  permitted  to 
leave  her  own  apartments.  The  blossoms  of  which  she  spoke 
were  in  the  upper  conservatory  as  it  was  called,  which  adjoined 
Daisy's  own  rooms.  Those  who  were  with  her  smiled  as  did  she 
when  they  heard  the  gruff  old  gardener  refuse  them  the  blossoms 
until  told  by  the  wily  Herbert  that  they  were  upon  the  order 
of  the  "Young  Missus"  herself,  upon  which  he  declared  that  the 
Young  Missus  was  free  to  strip  every  plant  in  the  conservatory 
of  all  its  bloom  whenever  she  chose. 

Lillian  had  made  her  adieux  and  she  and  Herbert  passed 
from  the  conservatory  down  through  the  grounds  to  the  south 
gate.  Daisy's  watchful  eyes  were  upon  them  and  as  they  paused 
at  the  gate  she  saw  Herbert  in  the  gloaming  bend  his  head  and 
touch  his  lips  to  those  of  stately  Lillian,  and  she  clapped  her 
hands  in  delight  and  cried:  "I  was  certain  of  it.  And  Oh! 
They  have  made  up  their  quarrel  and  are  engaged.  How  very 
nice. ' ' 

"It  looks  very  like  it,"  admitted  Willis,  laughing,  "I  dare 
say,  Daisy,  that  it  is  all  owing  to  your  match-making  propensi- 
ties. 'Misery  loves  company'  they  say.  And  having  been  en- 
trapped into  matrimony  yourself,  you  are  anxious  that  others 
should  share  your  misery." 

"I  am  so  happy,"  was  the  reply,  "that  I  can  afford  to  wish 
all  others  to  share  with  me.  I  wonder  how  it  came  about  1 ' ' 

And  this  is  how  "it  came  about." 

They,  Herbert  and  Lillian,  were  speaking  of  Daisy.  Herbert 
was  so  loud  in  his  praises  of  Willis's  young  wife,  that  for  the 


A  MUSICAL   MYSTERY  251 

first  time  in  her  life  the  proud  spirit  of  Lillian  Cavendish  ex- 
perienced a  twinge  of  jealousy,  and  she  said  a  little  spitefully: 
"You  love  her  so  dearly  that  I  wonder  you  did  not  marry  her 
yourself." 

At  any  other  time  Herbert  would  have  been  amused.  But 
now  he  answered  seriously:  "I  would  as  soon  think  of  wedding 
a  fairy,  a  bright  'winged  bird  or  a  delicately  perfumed  flower. 
The  love  any  one  must  feel  for  Daisy  is  much  like  that  they 
would  have  for  one  of  these."  Then  he  added  more  seriously 
still:  "No,  Lillian,  there  is  but  one  woman  in  this  world  with 
whom  it  is  possible  for  me  to  marry,  and  she  is  the  one  whom 
I  lost  through  my  own  folly." 

There  had,  as  Daisy  had  suspected,  been  much  between  these 
two— no  settled  engagement,  but  Herbert  St.  Aubyn  had  wooed— 
yes  and  had  won  too,  the  beautiful  Miss  Cavendish,  and  as  he 
had  said,  had  lost  her  through  his  own  folly.  For  Herbert  who 
had  got  into  that  fast  set  which  owned  the  dashing  Captain 
Frazer  as  its  leader,  began  to  sow  that  proverbial  "crop  of  wild 
oats, ' '  and  to  sow  them  all  at  once.  He  drank,  gambled,  had  his 
race  horse  and  his  mistress,  after  their  fashion.  Lillian  said 
nothing,  as  indeed  she  had  no  right,  but  when  Herbert  had  the 
audacity  to  present  himself  rather  more  than  half  tipsy  to  escort 
her  aunt  and  herself  to  the  Opera,  she  rebelled  and  promptly 
sent  the  young  man  to  the  right  about;  and  refused  longer  to 
receive  him  at  the  house.  Soon  after  this  quarrel  she  had  gone 
to  Europe.  She  had  but  lately  returned  from  the  Continent, 
and  was  about  to  start  upon  a  second  journey,  for  Lillian  was 
restless  and  ill  at  ease. 

They  walked  for  some  minutes  in  silence.  Then  Lillian  said 
softly:  "And — that  woman  is  me?" 

"Yourself,  Lillian.  How  I  could  have  been  so  mad  as  to 
deliberately  throw  away  all  chances  of  future  happiness,  I  can- 
not conceive.  I  am  not  the  wild,  dissipated  fellow  you  think  me, 
Lillian.  But  I  know  that  having  once  merited  your  contempt  I 
have  forfeited  all  hope  of  ever  winning  your  proud  heart.  You 
will  deign  to  give  me  your  friendship,  will  you  not,  when  I 
assure  you  that  in  common  parlance  I  have  '  reformed. '  Or  at 
least  you  will  forgive  me  for  that  last  mad  act  of  mine  which 
aroused  your  just  anger  against  me." 


252  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

Miss  Cavendish  looked  searchingly  at  him  for  a  time,  then 
the  warm  blood  flushed  to  the  very  roots  of  her  hair.  She  turned 
and  held  out  both  hands  to  him:  "Herbert,"  she  said  softly, 
when  he  had  confessed  that  after  the  conge  she  had  given 
him,  he  had  at  first  plunged  more  deeply  into  dissipation,  but, 
wearying  of  it  all  the  sooner  for  the  excesses  of  which  he  was 
guilty,  had  dropped  it,  too  late  to  win  back  her  respect  and 
liking. 

Then  it  was  that  Lillian  conquered  her  pride  and  said: 
"Herbert,  I  too,  have  a  confession  to  make.  I  had  scarcely 
driven  you  away  when  to  my  mortification  I  discovered  that, 
drunken  reprobate  as  I  thought  you  to  be,  I  loved  you,  and  that 
whether  or  not  you  reformed  your  habits,  you  were  the  only  one 
on  earth  for  whom  I  cared.  I  have  fought  long  and  stoutly 
against  this.  But  now  that  I  have  the  opportunity  of  righting 
matters  it  would  be  but  false  pride  in  me  to  withhold  the  truth. 
I  know  that  your  heart  is  mine,  and  if  you  wish  it  I  will  marry 
you,  let  what  will  happen  in  the  future.  But,"  she  added,  "tell 
me.  Was  it  not  my  part  to  aid  in  your  reformation  as  you  say 
that  Daisy  did?" 

' '  No,  Lillian.  That  was  her  particular  work.  And  I  owe  as 
I  said,  my  return  to  my  senses  to  that  little  temperance  lecture 
she  bestowed  upon  me  the  morning  after  her  marriage 
with  my  younger  brother." 

And  so  it  was  that  Herbert  St.  Aubyn  was  made  happy  be- 
yond his  deserts,  and  sealed  his  vows  by  the  betrothal  kiss  that 
Daisy  had  witnessed  from  her  windows  and  which  threw  her  into 
ecstasies. 

Sending  the  carriage  on  before,  Herbert  walked  home  with 
his  betrothed  in  the  early  twilight;  returning  before  the  lamps 
were  lighted  in  Daisy's  apartments,  because  he  was,  as  he  con- 
fessed, in  haste  to  share  the  secret  of  his  new-found  bliss  with  his 
younger  brother  and  sister  to  whom  he  believed  that  he  owed 
it. 

"Lillian  says  delays  have  proven  so  dangerous  in  our  case 
that  there  is  no  reason  we  should  not  be  married  at  once  or 
nearly  so;  but  I  tell  her  that  having  squandered  all  my  sub- 
stance in  riotous  living,  I  must  have  time  in  which  to  retrieve 
my  losses  and  so  be  able  to  furnish  a  living  to  my  wife  to  whose 
wealth  I  will  not  owe  it," 


A  MUSICAL   MYSTERY  253 

"But  Daddy  will  set  you  up,  old  boy.  He  has  enough  and 
to  spare." 

Herbert  demurred,  saying:  "Daddy  has  never  con- 
descended to  notice  my  good  behavior.  I  will,  of  course,  ask  him 
to  give  me  some  position  within  his  control,  but  I  insist  upon 
making  my  own  way." 

"There  are  the  ten  thousand  that  Grandmother  Deiton 
left  to  me.  Accept  the  loan  of  them,  my  brother,  until  you  right 
yourself.  Daisy  and  I  can  well  spare  it." 

Daisy  assented,  giving  up  without  a  murmur  the  grand 
scheme  of  having  a  house  to  themselves,  for  a  time  at  least,  that 
Herbert  and  Lillian  be  able  to  marry  at  once. 


254  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

CANTO  THE  FIFTH. 

"THE  GUBERNATORIAL  BLESSING." 

A  few  days  later  the  Governor  was  detained  until  late  at 
home  by  a  succession  of  family  interviews.  First  Willis  re- 
quested an  audience  of  him.  This  he  stated  was  in  behalf  of  his 
elder  brother.  Governor  St.  Aubyn's  face  clouded.  "Of  what 
new  folly  has  Herbert  been  guilty,"  he  asked. 

"Of  none,  my  dear  Daddy.  He  only  wishes  to  consult  you 
upon  the  subject  of  committing  that  of  matrimony." 

' '  Does  Herbert  believe  for  one  moment  that  I  will  consent  to 
his  union  with  that  hussy?" 

"Softly,  softly,  Daddy  mine.  If  you  refer  to  Mariette 
Fingre,  I  can  assure  you  that  Herbert  has  no  thought  of  her, 
as  a  wife.  He  and  Lillian  Cavendish  have  made  up  their  quarrel 
and  if  Lillian  can  overlook  his  escapade,  why  surely  you  may 
forgive  it." 

"Miss  Cavendish,"  echoed  the  Governor  in  great  surprise: 
"Why  surely  she  must  be  ignorant  of  Herbert's  dissipated 
habits.  What!  Does  he  expect  to  keep  the  divine  Lillian  upon 
the  proceeds  of  the  gaming-stable  or  the  winnings  of  the  race 
track?" 

"Daddy,  you  are  most  unjust  to  my  brother,  and  most  blind 
or  you  must  long  ago  have  seen  that  Herbert  has  for  many 
months  given  up  all  such  sports  and  quit  drinking  as  well.  It 
was  for  the  purpose  of  asking  you  to  permit  me  to  loan  him  the 
ten  thousand  my  Grandmother  left  to  me,  and  to  prevent  you 
from  saying  anything  discouraging  to  him,  I  insisted 
that  you  see  me  before  he  was  admitted  to  the  interview  I  know 
he  has  asked  with  you.  You  will  treat  him  kindly  will  you 
not,  dear  Daddy?" 

Willis,  having  paved  the  way  for  him,  gave  place  to  his 
elder  brother. 

Governor  St.  Aubyn's  eyes  lighted  up  with  pleased  surprise 
as  his  elder  son  entered  the  room.  There  was  now  in  Herbert's 
face  none  of  the  pale  and  haggard  look  of  the  disappointed 
gamester  and  debauche,  from  which  the  Governor  had  been  wont 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  255 

to  turn  away  in  sorrow,  disgust,  and  shame,  and  he  wondered 
at  his  own  blindness. 

"'Well,  Herbert,"  he  said,  assuming  a  gruffness  of  address 
to  hide  his  own  confusion,  "Willis  tells  me  that  you  wish  to 
borrow  his  little  pittance,  with  which  to  make  a  new  start  in 
life.  Why  not  sell  'Jasmine?'  She  cost  such  a  pretty  penny 
that  she  ought  to  realize  for  you  a  very  snug  little  sum  ? ' ' 

"I  sold  Jasmine  some  time  ago,  sir." 

"And  squandered  the  money?    I  see." 

"I  purchased  my  liberty  with  the  money  I  received  for  my 
racer.  I  paid  it  to  Mariette  Fingre." 

"Got  rid  of  your  mare  and  your  mistress  at  one  deal?  Ah 
well.  Now  that  is  not  so  bad  as  it  might  have  been.  I  call  that 
a  shrewd  investment." 

"You  wrong  the  girl,  Daddy.  She  had  higher  views  than 
to  become  my  mistress.  She  meant  to  marry  me,  and  in  view  of 
becoming  my  wife  she  acted,  and  was  so  far  as  I  know,  the  per- 
fection of  prudery." 

"Whew,"  whistled  the  Governor.  "That  was  an  escape.  I 
congratulate  you  upon  it.  But  tell  me  Herbert,"  he  questioned 
wistfully,  "When  did  this  revolution  in  your  character  begin?" 

' '  Why  Daddy,  I  really  cannot  say.  These  sort  of  things  soon 
palled  upon  my  taste.  I  love  my  mother  and  my  sisters,  and  I 
think  I  soon  ceased  to  betray  to  them  the  fact  that  I  had  become 
a  brute,  although  none  of  the  family  appeared  to  recognize  that 
fact,  except  Caroline  and  Willis,  who  aided  me  in  seeming  not 
to  notice  any  difference  in  me.  But  it  was  my  brother's  young 
wife  who  completed  my  reformation." 

"God  bless  her,  my  best-beloved,"  cried  the  Governor. 
"What  a  precious,  blind  old  fool  I  have  been,  to  be  sure.  For- 
give me,  laddie.  But  you  can  never  realize  the  sorrow  that  you 
have  caused  me.  You  are  my  eldest  born,  and  I  had  centered 
many  hopes  in  you,  and  in  mourning  over  disappointed  hopes  I 
never  saw  the  good  work  that  was  going  on.  Forgive  me  laddie, 
for  wronging  you  as  I  did,"  and  the  Governor  broke  down  and 
wept. 

And  then  there  were  embraces,  and  tears,  and  kisses  and 
confused  murmurings  in  which  could  be  heard  the  frequent  re- 
petition of  the  words,  "Daddy"  and  "Laddie." 

At  length  the  Governor  said:     "Now  go  to  your  mother, 


256  LA  GRAN   QUIBIRA 

laddie.  You  know  how  delighted  she  will  be  at  the  turn  events 
have  taken,  for  she  loves  and  admires  Lillian  Cavendish  more 
than  any  other  young  lady  who  visits  here.  How  could  I  have 
been  so  blind,  I  wonder,  to  the  change  that  has  taken  place  in 
you,  my  son.  You  are  sure  that  you  forgive  me?"  he  questioned 
for  the  twentieth  time. 

Herbert  met  Daisy  in  the  passageway.  But  she  only  put 
up  her  lips  for  a  hasty  kiss,  saying:  "I  see  that  everything  is 
lovely.  I  will  congratulate  thee  later.  I  am  in  haste  to  inter- 
view the  Governor  before  Carlie  gets  here." 

"There,  Daddy,  dear,  do  not  scold  me  for  entering  thy 
august  presence  unannounced.  I've  come  to  smoothe  the  way 
for  Carlie." 

The  Governor  frowned  once  more.  "I  might  have  known 
that  the  good  would  all  have  to  be  taken  out  of  Herbert's  affair, 
by  an  unaccountable  freak  of  some  other  member  of  my 
family,"  he  grumbled.  "Of  what  has  my  eldest  daughter  been 
guilty  now?" 

And  Daisy  answered  very  much  as  Willis  had  done :  ' '  She 
wants  to  marry,  that  is  all. ' ' 

"Has  Caroline  enlisted  your  sympathies  in  behalf  of  the 
dashing  Captain,  my  best-beloved?  If  so,  I  fear  I  must  disap- 
point your  generous  heart  by  repeating  my  refusal. ' ' 

"Oh,  thou  blind,  thou  suspicious  Daddy,"  quoth  Daisy. 
"Thou  really  dost  not  deserve  to  have  such  splendid  sons  and 
daughters.  To  punish  thee,  I  refuse  to  tell  thee  one  single  word. 
I  beg  thee  not  to  be  cruel  to  poor  Carlie,  but  to  win  her  con- 
fidence by  gentle  words.  Here  she  comes.  Let  me  hide  some- 
where. I  would  not  for  the  world  miss  the  sight  of  thy  discom- 
fiture," and  she  whisked  into  a  small  inner  room  from  which 
she  could,  herself  unseen,  witness  all  that  transpired. 

Governor  St.  Aubyn  could  not  but  admire  the  free,  dashing, 
swinging  gait  of  his  handsome  eldest  daughter  as  she  entered  his 
presence. 

"Well,  my  dear,  what  can  I  do  for  you  this  morning?"  he 
asked  kindly. 

"Daddy,  I  stand  in  great  need  of  your  diplomatic  assistance. 
Now  please  do  not  laugh.  I  've  caught  a  new  and  really  valuable 
fish  in  my  net,  and  want  your  assistance  in  landing  him  safely." 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  257 

"And  what  has  become  of  the  Captain?"  demanded  her 
father. 

"Oh,"  said  Caroline,  "He  is  so  old  a  story  that  I  had  quite 
forgotten  him." 

"Hump!"  quoth  the  Governor,  "Why  it  has'nt  been  many 
months  since  I  assisted  at  that  threatened  elopement.  Will  you 
give  me  the  exact  date  upon  which  you  were  cured  of  your  in- 
fatuation for  the  rascal  ? ' ' 

Caroline  flushed  scarlet,  then  laughed.  But  she  answered 
seriously,  "It  was  upon  the  night  of  the  ball  that  I  found  my- 
self entirely  cured.  He  presumed  to  cast  a  lustful  eye  upon  our 
sweet  Daisy,  and  I  found  in  that  one  glance,  a  cure  such  as  not 
all  your  commands  could  effect.  The  wretch!  I  could  have 
killed  him  for  that  look.  And  he  really  believes  that  I  was 
jealous." 

"Then  you  love  your  brother's  wife,"  questioned  the  Gov- 
ernor, "My  best-beloved?" 

"I  more  than  love  her,"  replied  Caroline  warmly,  "I  adore 
her.  You  can  scarcely  realize  what  Willis's  wife  has  done  for  us 
all.  She  is  a  gleam  of  sunshine  that  has  made  the  dark  places 
light.  But  for  her  coming,  both  Herbert  and  myself  must  have 
committed  some  act  of  folly  out  of  pure  desperation  because  of 
the  tedious  monotony  of  our  existence.  Governor  St.  Aubyn,  you 
never  did  so  wise  a  thing  as  when  you  sanctioned  the  marriage 
of  my  brother  Willis  to  Daisy  Zorlange.  She  has  been  our  salva- 
tion. It  is  quite  impossible  to  commit  a  real  folly  with  those 
innocent  eyes  upon  one,  at  least  for  one  who  has  not  already 
lost  all  self-respect." 

"God  bless  her,— my  best-beloved,"  repeated  the  Governor. 
"But  why  did  you  persist  in  your  flirtation,  if  you  cared  so  lit- 
tle, as  you  claim,  for  the  dashing  captain?" 

"Pure  obstinacy,  I  suspect.  I  am  a  'chip  of  the  old  block.' 
'Dad's  own  daughter,'  "  was  her  saucy  reply.  "Forbidden 
fruit  is  always  the  best.  Besides  how  was  I  to  know  the  true 
character  of  the  man  1  I  was  told,  it  is  true,  that  he  was  *  fast. ' 
The  word  has  always  something  in  it  which  fascinates  a  young 
girl,  who  interprets  it  to  mean  simply  that  a  'fast'  man  is  but 
a  male  coquette  who  is  irresistible  to  all  but  cares  for  none,  and 
that  to  win  such  an  one  is  to  secure  a  victory  over  many  less  for- 
tunate rivals.  If  parents  talked  plain  English  to  their  daughters, 
and  called  things  by  their  right  names,  no  matter  how  nasty 


258  LA  GRAN   QUIBIRA.  L 

they  were,  there  would  not  be  so  much  mischief  done  by  such 
characters  as  Captain  Frazer." 

"Well,"  said  the  Governor,  laughing,  "perhaps  you  are 
right.  But  what  of  the  'new  fish*  you  wish  me  to  land  for  you? 
I  am  really  curious  to  hear  who  has  cut  the  captain  out." 

"Do  not  laugh,  Dad.  I  am  really  in  earnest  this  time.  And 
I  am  certain  that  you  will  agree  with  me  in  thinking  that  Dr. 
Van  Valkenburg  is  worth  a  little  trouble  to  obtain  for  a  son-in- 
law." 

"Dr.  Van  Valkenburg?  But  surely  that  fine  fellow  has 
more  sense  than  to  pay  serious  court  to  such  a  mad-cap  as  you. ' ' 

"You  underrate  me,  Daddy.  But  seriously,  I  am  so  much 
afraid  of  losing  this,  the  chance  of  my  life-time,  to  win  a  thor- 
oughly good  and  true-hearted  husband.  Now  Daddy,  you  will 
help  me  in  this,  will  you  not?  The  absurd  fellow  has  taken  it 
into  his  head  that  he  has  been  guilty  of  a  serious  breach  of  hospi- 
tality in  falling  in  love  with  me,  and  is  about  to  leave  the  house. 
Prevent  that  will  you  not,  Daddy?  I  cannot  afford  to  lose  this 
chance  of  happiness  and  I  really  need  your  help." 

"But  what  am  I  to  do,  Caroline?  You  certainly  do  not  ex- 
pect me  to  throw  a  daughter  of  mine  at  any  man's  head." 

"Now  there,  Daddy,  is  just  where  I  expect  you  to  display 
your  skill  in  diplomacy.  Do  not  permit  him  to  leave  the  house, 
and  I  will  manage  the  rest.  But  if  'diplomacy'  fails,  then  by 
all  means  throw  me  at  his  head.  In  desperate  cases,  desperate 
remedies  must  be  employed."  Then  hearing  some  one  enter  the 
ante-room  she  hurried  into  the  inner  room  in  which  Daisy  had 
already  taken  refuge.  She  shook  her  head  reprovingly  at  that 
young  lady,  then  folded  her  close  in  her  arms. 

' '  Oh ; ' '  cried  Daisy  breathlessly,  "  Is  it  true,  is  it  really  true, 
Carlie,  that  I  have  had  the  very  least  little  bit  of  a  share  in 
bringing  about  thy  happiness?" 

"It  is  certainly  true  that  but  for  your  coming  I  would 
never  have  known  the  hopes  of  the  present  moment.  You  are 
the  good  genius  to  whom  I  owe  all  my  blessings." 

Daisy  was  wild  with  joy  and  admiration  of  Caroline.  "How 
brave  thou  wert,  Carlie,  in  confessing  thy  love  for  'Mein  Her- 
man.' I  am  very  proud  of  thee.  But  hush.  Here  comes  'Mein 
Herman.'  Shall  we  play  the  part  of  eaves  dropper,  or  shall  we 
beat  a  hasty  retreat?" 

"It  is  too  late  for  that  now,"  replied  Caroline,  "Even  if  we 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY 


259 


wished  it,  which  I  do  not,  for  if  Daddy  fails  in  this  I  am  de- 
termined to  assert  my  leap-year  prerogative  and  throw  myself 
at  Dr.  Van  Valkenburg's  head,  rather  than  lose  him  now.  For 
I  am  certain  that  he  loves  me." 

' '  Dr.  Van  Valkenburg, ' '  announced  a  servant,  and  the  Gov- 
ernor rose  to  greet  his  visitor,  saying  to  himself:  "As  true  and 
polished  a  gentleman  as  I  have  ever  known.  And  to  think  that 
my  madcap  Caroline  has  won  this  noble  heart— it  seems  incredi- 
ble." 

The  greetings  over,  the  Governor  said:  "You  wish  to  speak 
with  me  you  say,  upon  important  business?  Be  pleased  to  state 
it,  my  dear  fellow.  I  am  at  your  service." 

' '  The  truth  is,  Governor  St.  Aubyn, ' '  said  Dr.  Van  Valken- 
burg, his  pallor  deepening,  "I  sought  this  opportunity  to  ask 
your  permission  to  quit  your  house." 

"Who  of  all  my  household  has  presumed  to  make  you  feel 
unwelcome  here?" 

"No  one.  All  have  been  most  kind  to  me.  But  I  still  re- 
quest the  privilege  of  withdrawing  from  the  house." 

"But  I  insist  upon  knowing  why  you  are  dissatisfied  here." 

The  doctor's  rugged  face  flushed,  then  paled  again,  but  he 
answered  bravely:  "I  had  hoped  to  keep  my  secret.  But  since 
you  insist— know  then  that  I  have  had  the  presumption— I  have 
committed  the  impropriety — Miss  St.  Aubyn  your  daughter, 
sir—." 

' '  Do  you  mean  that  you  have  had  the  audacity  to  seduce  one 
of  my  daughters,"  thundered  the  Governor,  who  never  per- 
mitted a  sense  of  modesty  to  spoil  a  joke. 

The  look  of  unfeigned  horror  upon  the  face  of  the  doctor 
came  near  upsetting  his  gravity  however.  And  when  Herman 
replied  with  sober  gravity:  "The  Misses  St.  Aubyn  are  above 
reproach,"  the  Governor  turned  aside  to  hide  the  smile  upon  his 
jovial  face,  saying  to  himself:  "God  bless  the  man.  And  to 
think  that  one  of  the  wildest  of  my  wild  brood  has  won  for 
herself  this  heart  of  gold.  I  respect  my  daughter  Caroline. 
There  is  something  in  her  after  all." 

"God  forbid  that  I  should  harm  any  woman.  I  have  a 
sister  and  a  mother  of  my  own.  No,  I  have  but  committed  a 


260  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

gross  breach  of  hospitality.    I  have  presumed  to  fall  in  love  with 
Miss  St.  Aubyn." 

"Oh,"  said  the  Governor,  "is  that  all?  And  she  jilted  you, 
I  suppose.  Well  let  me  give  you  a  piece  of  good  advice:  'Stay 
and  try  your  luck  again.'  You  are  but  a  novice  in  the  business 
of  love-making,  I  perceive,  and  do  not  understand  the  'Yes- 
ness'  of  a  girl's  'No.'  Stay  by  all  means,  and  I  will  do  my  very 
best  to  further  your  suit." 

"But,  sir,  do  you  mean  that  you  find  nothing  objectionable 
in  me  as  a  suitor  for  the  hand  of  your  daughter,— my  'poverty,' 
my  '  obscurity  1 '  I  have  never  approached  Miss  St.  Aubyn  upon 
this  subject.  But  if  I  have  your  permission  to  address  her  I  will 
try  to  deserve  the  honor  in  time." 

"There  is  no  man  upon  this  earth  to  whom  I  would  entrust 
the  happiness  of  any  daughter  of  mine  with  greater  confidence 
than  to  yourself,  Dr.  Van  Valkenburg,"  replied  the  Governor 
heartily.  "Your  poverty  cuts  no  figure  in  my  eyes.  I  have 
money  enough  and  to  spare.  Besides  with  your  talents  and  your 
ability  you  are  certain  to  stand  at  the  head  of  your  profession. 
Here  is  the  first  stepping  stone  to  fame,"  and  he  handed  the  doc- 
tor an  open  letter  in  which  Dr.  Winthrop,thefirstphysicianof  the 
city,  proposed  to  associate  the  young  German  physician  with 
himself,  and  turn  over  to  him  his  own  many  appointments  wish- 
ing while  practically  retiring  from  the  business  himself  to  keep 
it  up  in  name  at  least. 

Dr.  Herman's  eyes  lighted  up  with  pleasure  as  he  read  the 
generous  compliments  bestowed  upon  himself  without  stint  by 
the  old  doctor. 

' '  Truly, ' '  he  said  again,  ' '  My  lines  have  fallen  in  pleasant 
places,"  and  he  thanked  the  Governor  warmly. 

"But,"  said  the  Governor  jocularly,  remembering  for  the 
first  time  that  the  two  girls  were  listening,  "I  must  discourage 
your  hopes  of  winning  my  eldest  daughter,  somewhat.  My  ex- 
perience with  that  young  woman  tells  me  that  if  she  favored 
your  suit  she  would  have  told  you  so  whether  you  asked  her  or 
not." 

"Oh,  thou  'awful  Dad,'  "  and  "now,  Daddy,  that  is  really 
too  bad  of  you, ' '  cried  the  eavesdroppers  simultaneously,  as  they 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  261 

made  their  appearance  before  the  astonished  doctor.  Then  Caro- 
line, half  laughing,  half  crying,  turned  to  him  and  said:  "Oh, 
Herman !  What  a  stupid  you  are  to  be  sure,  not  to  have  seen. ' ' 

Dr.  Herman  Van  Valkenburg  stood  as  one  dazed  for  a 
moment,  then  his  face  grew  radiant  with  a  new-born  hope.  He 
advanced  toward  her  with  hands  out-stretched,  saying  timidly: 
"Miss  St.  Aubyn, — Caroline.  *Can  you — will  you — do  you 
mean —  ?" 

And  as  Daisy  put  it  later,  "Carlie  both  'could'  and  'would,' 
— and  meant  it." 

"Is  he  not  beautiful,  Dad,"  asked  Daisy,  gazing  into  Her- 
man's homely  face  transfigured  by  love. 

"Love  is,  indeed,  a  great  beautifier,"  assented  Daddy.  "But 
my  best-beloved,  let  us  take  our  departure.  We  are  de  trop  here. 


262  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

CANTO  THE  SIXTH. 
"THE  WINGED  FAIRY  WALTZ." 

As  the  Governor  and  Daisy  made  their  way  up  stairs,  their 
arms  encircling  each  other  like  a  couple  of  school  girls,  the  Gov- 
ernor said:  "I  have  never  in  all  my  life  been  so  very  happy, 
my  best-beloved.  Do  you  know  I  feel  just  like  having  another 
turn  at  that  'Winged  Fairy  Waltz.'  The  air  seems  to  be  hum- 
ming in  my  ears  at  this  moment." 

"Let's,"  replied  Daisy,  laconically,  as  they  reached  the 
head  of  the  grand  staircase,  and  in  a  twinkle  she  had  caught  up 
her  loosely  floating  curls  upon  the  top  of  her  head,  and  pinned 
up  her  trailing  skirts.  Then,  while  the  Governor  whistled  the 
tune,  her  sweet  shrill  treble  took  up  the  refrain  with  a  ' '  Tra,  la, 
la, ' '  and  then  began  the  maddest  waltz  which  that  staid  mansion 
had  beheld  for  many  a  day. 

Up  and  down  the  length  of  the  wide  corridor  they  spun. 
" Whist-a-whew, "  puffed  the  Governor,  and  "Tra,  la,  la,"  sang 
Daisy.  The  Governor  wheezed  and  blowed,  and  there  were 
many  little  catches  in  Daisy's  voice,  but  still  the  waltz  went  on 
until  the  couple  had  twice  gone  the  length  of  the  corridor  and 
from  pure  exhaustion  sunk  laughing  and  breathless  upon  the 
narrow  seat  in  the  niche  at  the  head  of  the  stairway,  unmind- 
ful that  door  after  door  had  been  opened  along  the  great  hall 
and  spectator  been  added  to  spectator,  until  there  were  in  the 
doorway  of  that  lady's  own  boudoir,  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  and 
Herbert;  in  the  door  to  the  school  room  Grace  and  Dell  St. 
Aubyn  with  their  governess  and  music  master ;  while  at  the  end 
of  the  hall  stood  Willis,  his  boyish  face  well  lathered,  and  Saun- 
ders  looking  over  his  young  master's  shoulder,  razor  and  strop 
in  hand;  while  at  the  head  of  the  back  stairway  stood  a  group 
of  some  half  a  dozen  of  the  servants  of  the  house  who  were  all 
agape  at  the  novel  performance. 

"Governor  St.  Aubyn,"  called  a  stern,  reproving  voice. 

The  Governor  giggled.  It  was  such  a  silly,  senseless  sort  of 
giggle,  that  Daisy  shrieked  with  laughter  and  was  joined  therein 
by  the  entire  audience. 

"Governor  St.  Aubyn!"  the  voice  was  truly  awe-inspiring, 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  263 

and  the  Governor  answered  obediently:  "Yes'm,"  and  rising 
dutifully  obeyed  the  summons,  trying  to  smooth  his  ruffled 
plumage  as  he  went.  But  he  cut  such  a  ludicrous  figure  with  his 
air  of  humble  deprecation  added  to  his  thoroughly  disreputable 
appearance,  that  when  he  set  his  tall  hat  with  an  air  of  reckless 
bravado  upon  the  side  of  his  grizzled  grey  head,  and  strutted 
toward  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn,  Daisy  and  the  rest,  with  the  one  ex- 
ception of  that  horrified  lady  hereself,  were  convulsed  anew  and 
nearly  strangled  themselves  in  a  vain  effort  to  smother  their 
laughter  by  stuffing  their  pocket-handkerchiefs  in  their  respec- 
tive mouths. 

When  the  Governor  and  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  had  disappeared 
within  the  apartments  of  the  latter,  Grace  and  Dell  came  for- 
ward demanding:  "Daisy  St.  Aubyn.  Whatever  is  the  row?" 

And  Daisy  mounting  the  rostrum  of  the  narrow  ledge  in  the 
niche,  upon  which  she  found  it  difficult  to  preserve  her  equili- 
brium, declaimed  with  a  grand  flourish,  after  gaining  the  smil- 
ing consent  of  Herbert,  who  was  slowly  sauntering  down  the 
hallway  toward  her:  "Fellow  citizens,  ladies  and  gentlemen— I 
have  the  honor  to  announce  to  thee  all,  the  engagement  and  ap- 
proaching marriage  of  the  eldest  son  and  heir  to  the  house  of 
St.  Aubyn,"  and  she  paused  for  the  applause  which  she  did  not 
receive.  Instead,  Grace  questioned  in  a  voice  of  contempt,  full 
of  surprised  anger:  "Has  Daddy  been  so  unjust  to  the  remain- 
der of  his  family,  as  to  sanction  Herbert's  engagement  with  that 
wretched  creature?" 

"Whetched  creature,  thyself,  Grace  St.  Aubyn.  How  dare 
thee  call  the  beautiful,  the  perfect  Lillian  Cavendish,  my  lovely 
'Calla  Lily'  'wretch'  or  a  'wretched  creature'  either?" 

"Lillian  Cavendish,"  echoed  the  sisters  in  chorus.  Then 
Grace  turned  with  a  sob  to  Herbert  who  had  neared  them. 

"Forgive  me,  brother,"  she  pleaded.  "But  even  we  had 
heard  of  Mariette,  you  see,  and — but — "  she  questioned  in  an 
awed  sort  of  manner.  "Is  it  true?  Have  you,  indeed,  won  that 
grand  creature  for  your  wife?" 

Herbert  had  been  this  young  sister's  idol,  and  no  one  had 
guessed  the  depth  of  her  sorrow  and  regret  when  she  had  been 
forced  to  acknowledge  her  idol's  defect.  The  young  girl  had 
inherited  all  of  the  pride  of  birth  and  a  stainless  name,  and 
nothing  in  her  eyes  could  be  worse  or  more  disgraceful  than 


264  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

the  coupling  of  her  brother's  name  with  that  of  a  "fast  young 
woman, "  or  to  witness  the  silly  freaks  of  his  dissipated  days.  So 
long  had  she  been  accustomed  to  turn  coldly  away  from  his  ad- 
vances that  she  had  been  as  blind  as  the  rest  of  the  family  to 
his  voluntary  reformation;  and  now,  realizing  her  own  blind  in- 
justice, she  begged  most  humbly  that  he  would  forgive  her. 

Herbert  realized  now  for  the  first  time  the  sorrow  and 
shame  that  the  sowing  of  his  own  wild  oats  had  caused  this 
favorite  sister ;  and  clasping  her  close  to  his  breast,  he  whispered : 
"My  dear  little  sister,  Grace.  Had  I  known  that  you  cared 
so  much  for  your  scape-grace  brother,  I  would  have  told  you 
long  ere  this.  It  is  indeed  true  that  I  am  soon  to  give  you  an- 
other new  sister  in  Lillian  Cavendish.  And  I  am  very  happy 
that  you  are  pleased  with  the  thought  of  the  anticipated  gift." 

' '  But  fellow  citizens ;  ladies  and  gentlemen, ' '  pursued  Daisy, 
poising  herself  skillfully  upon  her  precarious  perch,  "This  is 
not  all  I  have  to  tell.  There  is  to  be  a  grand  'double'  wedding. 
For  not  only  art  thou  called  upon  to  congratulate  the  son  and 
heir  of  the  house  of  St.  Aubyn,  but  the  eldest  daughter  and 
heiress  is  also  about  to  be  wedded. ' ' 

It  was  now  Herbert's  turn  to  interfere.  "Does  Daddy  for 
one  moment  suppose  that  I  would  consent  to  marry  Lillian 
Cavendish  at  the  same  time  that  Caroline  is  permitted  to  dis- 
grace herself  and  the  rest  of  us1  by  uniting  herself  with  that 
dissolute  scamp?" 

"  'Dissolute  scamp'  thyself,  Herbert  St.  Aubyn.  Who  art 
thou,  I  should  like  to  know,  that  thou  darest  call  'Mein  Herman' 
a  'dissolute  scamp,'  "  screamed  Daisy  in  high  dudgeon,  her 
wrath  real,  or  assumed,  very  nearly  causing  her  to  lose  her  bal- 
ance upon  the  narrow  rostrum. 

"Dr.  Van  Valkenburg,"  ejaculated  the  amazed  Herbert. 
"By  Jove.  But  my  sister  Caroline  is  a  most  lucky  girl." 

"Thou  dost  not  then  look  upon  him  as  a  reprobate?"  quiz- 
zed Daisy  from  her  vantage  ground. 

"I  think  Dr.  Herman  Van  Valkenburg  the  truest  and  most 
noble-hearted  gentleman  I  have  ever  known,"  replied 
Herbert  warmly.  And  then  he  repeated :  "By  Jove.  What  a 
lucky  girl  is  my  sister  Caroline. ' ' 

"Daisy,  do  you  really  mean  to  say,"  asked  Del,  "That  sis- 
ter Caroline  is  actually  engaged  to  Dr.  Van  Valkenburg?"  This 
in  almost  breathless  astonishment. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  265 

"Well,"  answered  Daisy,  "my  known  respect  for  the  truth, 
forbids  me  to  say  in  so  many  words  that  the  two  are  really  'en- 
gaged. '  But  upon  this  I  will  take  my  solemn  oath.  When  Daddy 
and  I  left  them  together  some  ten  minutes  or  so  ago,  after 
(rather  prematurely  as  I  must  admit)  bestowing  upon  them  our 
paternal  and  gubernatorial  blessing,  we  left  them  in  the  very  act 
of  'engaging.'  ' 

"By  Jove,"  reiterated  Herbert,  "what  a  lucky  girl  is  my 
sister  Caroline,"  while  the  girls,  Grace  and  Del,  cried  in  chorus: 
"Good,  good,  good.  No  wonder  that  you  and  Dad  wanted  to 
dance  for  the  very  joy  of  the  thing,"  and  the  two  spun  away 
down  the  corridor,  while  Herbert  whistled  softly  for  their  bene- 
fit. 

As  they  came  back  again  Herbert  said :  "I  have  done  Caro- 
line great  injustice.  I  have  been  so  taken  up  with  my  own  love 
affairs  that  I  never  suspected  that  she  was  'off  with  the  old 
love.'  ' 

"We'll  never  tell  her,  so  that  you  need  not  fear  having 
your  ears  boxed  for  calling  our  paragon  of  goodness  a  'scamp' 
and  a  'rascal.'  ' 

"I  will  confess  it  to  her  myself  at  the  very  first  opportun- 
ity. I  feel  that  I  ought  to  be  well  chastised  for  my  offense.  I'll 
tell  her.  I  believe  that  I  will  feel  much  better  when  I  have 
made  the  amende  honorable.  Caroline  has  always  stood  my 
friend,  and  I  think  that  I  deserve  to  be  kicked  for  doubting 
her. ' ' 

Everybody  stared  at  the  Governor  who  came  out  of  his 
wife's  apartment,  as  trim  and  neat  and  polished  as  if  he  had 
just  been  unboxed,  saying:  "Come,  laddie,  you  must  at- 
tend me  to  the  office  this  morning.  I  expect  you  to  take  the 
place  of  my  first  aide.  Ta,  ta,  my  dears,"  he  called  back  as  the 
two  started  down  the  staircase  arm  in  arm.  "Good-bye  till 
luncheon."  Adding:  "Yours  is  the  very  happiest  old  Dad  in 
Christendom  today.  Be  sure  to  kill  the  fatted  calf." 

"To  celebrate  the  prodigal  father's  return— to  his  senses?" 
called  Daisy  after  them  with  her  propensity  for  always  having 
the  "last  word." 

"Right,  as  you  always  are,  my  best-beloved,"  was  the  re- 
sponse, as  he  tossed  an  airy  kiss  to  her. 


266  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

There  were  smiles  upon  the  lips  of  his  two  daughters,  but 
tears  in  their  eyes  as  they  watched  their  father  and  brother  pass 
down  the  staircase,  and,  through  the  great  entrance  door,  down 
the  street  toward  the  office  of  the  Governor,  a  sight  they  had  not 
beheld  for  many  months.  They  laughed  and  wept  by  turns  to 
see  the  tender  care  with  which  Herbert  addressed  the  father 
from  whom  he  had  been  so  long  estranged,  and  how  the  elder 
man  leaned  heavily  upon  the  younger  in  pretended  need  of  his 
support. 

When  the  two  were  lost  to  view,  Grace  and  Del,  as  if  moved 
by  a  common  impulse,  turned  and  pounced  down  upon  the  as- 
tonished Daisy,  hugging,  kissing,  and  tenderly  caressing  her, 
saying:  "It  is  all  your  doings,  you  dear  little  witch.  No  won- 
der that  Daddy  calls  you  his  'best-beloved.'  You  are  the  best- 
beloved  of  us  all,"  and,  questioning,  "Can  you  ever  forgive  us 
for  being  so  mean  to  you. ' ' 

Daisy  said,  "Thou  hast  always  been  kind  to  me.  I  thought 
thou  wast  a  little  cold  perhaps.  But,  dear  Grace,  I  believed  it  to 
be  natural  for  thee  to  be  so." 

"Do  not  believe  it.  There  is  no  warmer-hearted  girl  in 
the  world  than  I  am.  It  was  just  downright  nastiness  upon  my 
part  that  I  did  not  welcome  my  brother's  wife  as  a  sister  should." 

"I'll  tell  you,  Grace,"  confessed  Del,  contritely,  "I  believe 
it  was  only  a  mean-spirited  jealousy  that  made  us  so  hateful  and 
unkind.  Daisy  is  so  much  prettier  and  smarter  than  either  of 
us  can  ever  hope  to  be,  that  we  were  mean  enough  not  only  to 
be  downright  jealous,  but  to  show  our  spleen  as  well." 

"That  is  all  over  now,"  said  Grace.  "And  since  Daisy  for- 
gives us,  we  will  be  as  proud  of  her  in  the  future  as  we  have 
been  jealous  of  her  in  the  past.  Oh,  it  is  of  no  use  denying  it, 
Daisy,  your  coming  into  this  family  has  proved  its  salvation.  I 
shudder  to  think  of  what  might  have  happened  to  Herbert 
and  Caroline  had  you  not  come.  Both  of  them  would  certainly 
have  disgraced  us,  but  for  your  example.  Del  and  I  now  propose 
to  benefit  by  it,  if  you  will  permit  us  to  do  so." 

"Daisy!"  The  three  girls  looked  up  in  astonishment.  This 
could  not  be  the  same  voice  which  had  spoken  so  harshly  a  short 
time  ago.  Yet  there  stood  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  in  her  doorway,  and 
she  repeated  the  summons,  beseechingly:  "Daisy,  my  daughter, 
will  you  not  come  to  me  for  a  little  \vhile  1 ' ' 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  267 

Daisy  arose  and  went  to  her,  trying  in  her  turn  to  smooth 
her  own  ruffled  plumage,  as  she  went. 

As  the  door  closed  upon  them,  Grace  and  Del  looked  at 
each  other  in  amazement.  "Well,  well,"  said  Del  at  length,  "I 
am  glad  that  we  got  the  start  of  Mammy  this  time,  and  made 
our  peace  with  Daisy  first."  Then  the  two  girls  returned  to 
the  school-room  to  say  to  the  governess  and  to  the  professor,  that 
Daisy  had  requested  that  all  celebrate  the  double  engagement  by 
making  themselves  comfortable  and  idle  for  the  remainder  of 
that  day,  but  had  particularly  asked  that  "Mam'selle  Fraulein" 
and  the  "Herr  Professor"  be  kept  to  luncheon. 

"Mam'selle  Fraulein,"  repeated  the  "Herr  Professor." 
"Now  dat  is  goot.  Dat  is  ferry  goot,  indeed,"  and  he  laughed 
boistrously,  but  pledged  himself  that  both  should  remain. 

Willis  sighed  and  went  up  stairs  to  find  Janet.  He  had 
waited  impatiently  to  speak  with  Daisy,  but  realizing  now  that 
his  mother  would  not  release  her  until  summoned  to  luncheon, 
he  prowled  about  their  own  suite  of  apartments,  missing  Daisy 
everywhere  for  there  was  nothing  here  but  what  spoke  to  him 
of  her;  and  smiled  when  he  visited  her  dressing-room,  at  the 
order  that  reigned  throughout  the  seeming  disarray.  All  here 
was  pretty  confusion,  yet  he  was  certain  that  even  in  utter  dark- 
ness Daisy  could  select  any  article  she  wished.  Finding  Janet, 
he  astonished  that  spinster  by  waltzing  her  around  the  room 
and  with  a  rousing  kiss  sitting  her  down  upon  the  sofa.  Then 
he  told  her  all  the  news  of  the  house,  for  Janet  had  but  now 
come  in  from  the  Zorlange  house,  between  which  and  that  of  the 
St.  Aubyn's,  she  divided  her  time  pretty  evenly. 

"I  always  believed  that  it  would  come  out  right  some  time. 
I  knew  that  no  one  could  long  withstand  Daisy's  winning  ways. 
I  think  that  you  will  all  be  perfectly  happy  new. ' '  And  so  they 
were— for  a  time. 

When  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  presented  herself  at  the  luncheon 
table  with  Daisy,  lo,  what  a  metamorphose  was  there.  The  two 
had  been  closeted  together  until  the  bell  rang.  What  passed 
between  them  was  never  known,  except  that  when  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn 
appeared,  she  had  developed  from  a  fashionably  dressed  (or 
rather  over-dressed)  woman,  who  was  striving  to  deceive  old 
Time  himself  as  to  her  real  age,  into  what  she  really  was,  an 
extremely  handsome  elderly  woman.  Daisy's  deft  fingers  had 
worked  miracles.  She  had  deliberately  removed  every  trace  of 


268  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

"rouge,"  taken  off  the  suspiciously  black  false  front  and  ar- 
ranged the  profusion  of  silvery  tresses  in  soft  ringlets  and  tossed 
together  somehow  the  thing  that  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  had  always 
abominated— a  black  lace  "cap"— with  which  she  had  adorned 
but  not  concealed  her  beautiful  hair.  And  from  her  dress  she 
had  removed  every  trace  of  "youth  wooed  back,"  and  Mrs.  St. 
Aubyn  now  appeared  for  the  first  time  since  that  youth  had 
departed,  a  really  well-dressed  woman. 

Daisy's  own  curls  were  still  in  disarray,  and  her  dress  still 
in  disorder,  but  everyone  there  while  praising  her  skill  as  shown 
in  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn 's  appearance  declared  that  Daisy  always 
looked  lovelier  in  disarray.  And  she  was  then  and  there  voted 
the  privilege  of  coming  to  the  table  just  as  she  liked. 

Among  all  the  compliments  she  received  that  day  those 
which  touched  the  heart  of  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  the  most  was  the 
one  whispered  by  the  doctor  as  he  claimed  for  himself  the  love 
and  blessing  of  a  mother  for  her  son,  and  that  of  her  husband 
who  stopped  stock  still  in  sheer  admiration  as  he  made  his  way 
to  the  head  of  the  table,  and  stooping  over  her  kissed  her  saying : 
"Why,  'My-Nerva,'  I  have  not  seen  you  look  so  beautiful  since 
our  wedding-day."  Adding  as  he  eyed  her  critically,  "Nor 
then  I  think,  for  you  are  the  very  handsomest  old  lady  I  have 
ever  seen.  What  has  worked  the  miracle?  Daisy?  Ah,  what 
do  we  not  owe  this  day  to  my  best- beloved?" 

"  'Our  best-beloved,'  if  you  please,  daddy,"  was  chorused 
by  all,  to  the  intense  delight  of  the  governor  and  his  best-beloved. 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  269 

CANTO  THE  SEVENTH. 

"THE  FEAST  OF  ROSES/' 

After  luncheon,  preparations  were  begun  for  the  celebration 
of  the  double  engagement,  as  it  should  be.  Daisy  with  her  wish  to 
always  share  her  blessings  with  others,  declared  that  this  day 
must  be  one  to  be  remembered  with  pleasure  by  every  inmate  of 
the  St.  Aubyn  mansion,  and  Daisy  had  by  common  consent  been 
appointed  "mistress  of  the  ceremonies." 

There  was  to  be  no  regular  dinner  upon  that  day,  but  an 
informal  one.  The  servants  were  to  have  the  evening  to  them- 
selves and  were  to  attend  the  play,  after  they  had  arranged  the 
supper  for  the  family.  The  music  master  and  the  governess 
were  given  their  choice  between  the  play  and  the  opera.  The 
delight  with  which  they  both  screamed  in  chorus:  "Patti,"  left 
no  doubt  of  their  choice. 

Then  Grace  and  Del  undertook  to  fit  the  gentle  "Ma'm- 
selle  Fraulien"  for  the  opera.  She  and  the  burly  "Herr  Pro- 
fessor" had  strolled  about  the  grounds  until  the  luncheon  hour, 
talking  softly  of  the  great  good  luck  which  had  come  to  their 
employers,  honestly  sharing  the  general  joy  it  had  occasioned. 
The  two  girls  then  sent  the  professor  home  for  his  own  dress 
suit  with  strict  orders  to  return  betimes  that  he  might  escort 
"Ma'mselle  Fraulein"  to  her  own  rooms,  for  a  social  tea  with 
the  little  crippled  sister — of  whose  existence  the  two  girls  re- 
proached themselves  for  having  been  hitherto  ignorant — to  show 
the  little  one  her  new  array.  Del  had  insisted  upon  presenting 
the  "Mam'selle  Fraulein"  with  a  pretty  mauve  silk  of  her  own. 

"I  wore  it  but  once,"  she  said,  "and  will  never  wear  it 
again.  Mammy  took  an  absurd  notion  at  one  time  that  Grace 
and  I  should  dress  precisely  alike,  and  that  mauve  silk  is  one  of 
her  investments.  I  can  never  forget  how  Mammy  looked  when 
we  appeared  late  at  that '  musicale '  at  Clarendon  Place.  Grace 's 
blonde  beauty  was  heightened  by  the  mauve  tints  and  I  think  I 
never  saw  her  look  so  well,  but  the  tint  yellowed  the  brown  of 
my  complexion  and  I  looked  for  all  the  world  like  a  mulatto. 
It  was  too  late  for  me  to  change  my  gown,  so  all  I  could  do  was 


270  LA   GRAN   QUIBIBA 

to  strive  to  hide  myself  from  the  critical  gaze  of  the  public. 
But  I  declare  I  felt  myself  ubiquitous.  It  cured  Mammy  of  her 
new  f angled  notion  and  I  wore  no  blonde  colors  after  this.  You 
are  quite  welcome  to  the  gown  which  will  be  most  becoming  to 
you.  'Ask  Mammy?'  why,  it  would  be  as  much  as  my  life  is 
worth  to  mention  that  gown  to  Mammy.  It  is  the  visible  sign  of 
one  of  her  greatest  defeats,  you  see." 

Mam'selle  looked  very  pretty  indeed,  when  her  toilette  was 
completed  under  the  personal  supervision  of  her  pupils.  The 
mauve  silk  had  proven,  as  Del  had  prophesied,  most  becoming 
to  her  fair  face.  Daisy  had  presented  her  with  a  white  lace 
mantle  and  Grace  had  finished  her  toilette  by  placing  a  bonnet 
of  white  lace  trimmed  writh  a  wreath  of  pink  and  white  daisies 
upon  her  wealth  of  soft  brown  braids,  and  the  costume  was  fin- 
ished by  a  pearl-handled  fan  and  a  pearl-studded  lorgnette,  the 
gifts  of  Caroline  and  Lillian.  As  she  drew  on  her  white  kids, 
sent  her  with  the  compliments  of  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn,  the  elder,  a 
soft  color  mounted  to  her  cheeks  and  deepened,  her  eyes  lit  up 
with  gratitude,  and  pleasure,  and  all  declared  that  there  would 
be  no  prettier  demoselle  at  the  opera  that  night  than  their  own 
' '  Mam  'selle  Fraulein. ' ' 

"Only  think  how  selfish  we  have  been,"  cried  Del.  "Ma'm- 
selle  has  been  in  the  house  for  more  than  three  years  and  yet  we 
did  not  even  know  she  had  this  little  crippled  sister,  who 
she  says  looks  so  like  an  oriental  princess  that  she  calls  her 
'Haidee'  because  of  her  wealth  of  dark  brown  hair  and  her 
dreamy  dark  brown  eyes.  I  have  promised  to  take  the  little 
one,  who  can  walk  but  little,  for  a  drive  almost  every  day; 
and  I  am  certain  that  Dr.  Herman  will  do  all  that  lies  in  his 
power  to  alleviate  her  sufferings  gratis,  Ma'mselle  not  having 
yet  been  able  to  procure  for  her  good  medical  advice." 

Daisy  was  here,  there,  and  everywhere.  Down  in  the  cook- 
room  she  insisted  upon  making  a  second  betrothal  cake,  and  laid 
a  wager  with  Black  Dinah,  the  head  cook,  that  her  own  would 
prove  to  be  the  best. 

Now  Dinah  was  "some"  on  cake,  especially  the  proverbial 
pound  cake  selected,  and  had  a  mild  dispute  with  Daisy  upon 
the  subject,  for  that  young  lady  declared  she  was  "mo'  "  upon 
this  subject  of  cake. 

"Sho,  chile.  You's  but  a  infant  in  such  matters.  Does  yo- 
think  now  that  yo'  can  out-do  yo'  auntie  fo'  sho." 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  271 

''Yes,  Dinah,  I  think  I  can,  and  I  will,"  was  Daisy's  re- 
joinder. "And  now  for  it." 

Each  weighed  out  her  own  ingredients.  Daisy  reprimanding 
Dinah  more  than  once  for  her  meddlesome  interference.  Each 
cake  contained  a  plain  gold  ring  which  was  supposed  to  fall  to 
the  lot  of  the  one,  or  rather,  two,  who  would  be  next  engaged; 
and  they  aired  their  hopes  that  these  might  be  found  in 
those  pieces  eaten  by  Grace  and  Del,  that  another  double  wed- 
ding might  be  the  result. 

Dinah's  cake  left  the  oven  first  and  was  pronounced  "the 
very  perfection  of  cakes,"  by  all  except  Daisy,  who  pursed  up 
her  pretty  lips  and  remarked  that,  "It  might  have  been  a  little 
lighter."  Then  she  carefully  removed  her  own  from  the  oven, 
which  to  the  dismay  of  the  old  black  cook,  reared  itself  fully  a 
quarter  of  an  inch  above  her  own,  and  held  its  place,  although 
Dinah  had  told  her  that  her  weights  were  light,  and  consequently 
that  her  cake  was  "Sho  to  fall."  The  old  black,  however,  kept 
her  temper  when  rallied  by  the  rest  of  the  household,  saying: 
"Dat's  witchcraft.  Miss  Daisy's  done  houdooed  me.  She  ain't 
no  right  mortal.  She  am  a  witch,  or  a  fairy  or  summat,"  as 
she  eyed  Daisy's  chef-de-auvre  with  pretended  terror.  "Well, 
yo'  just  scat  out  o'  my  kitchen,  yo'  little  witch."  And  Daisy 
used  her  own  pleasure,  and  "done  scatted." 

The  servants  were  all  gone  to  the  play.  Daisy,  always  up 
to  mischief,  insisted  that  the  Governor's  box  be  given  up  to 
them  for  that  evening.  Then  she  herself  superintended  Dinah's 
toilette. 

"Now,  Dinah,  now's  thy  chance.  Thou  must  certainly  dis- 
play thy  charms  in  that  magnificent  plaid  silk  gown  which  I 
caught  thee  admiring  some  weeks  ago." 

The  skirt  of  the  wonderful  plaid  silk  was  ready  made,  and 
it  was  but  a  few  hour's  work  for  the  seamstress,  and  Hortense 
to  complete  the  waist,  which  Daisy  insisted  must  for  evening 
wear  be  decolette.  And  when  Dinah  was  shown  off  to  the 
family  before  the  carriage  engulfed  her,  she  was  pronounced 
by  all  to  be  simply  "immense,"  literally  a  "stunner."  The 
wonderful  plaid  of  vivid  scarlet  ground  of  a  full  hand's  breadth 
in  size,  was  shot  with  each  and  every  tint  of  the  rainbow.  A 
train  had  been  added  and  Dinah's  neck  and  arms  of  sculptured 
ebony  were  left  bare.  Daisy  had  seen  that  the  innumerable 
little  tags  of  wool  were  caught  up  in  truly  regal  style  by  a 


272  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

diadem  of  golden  stars,  and  the  little  "witch"  had  herself  put  on 
the  finishing  touches  to  this  marvelous  toilette  by  pinning  an  im- 
mense pink  and  white  peony  with  a  profusion  of  green  sur- 
rounding it  upon  her  capacious  bosom,  placing  another  in  a 
most  wonderful  bouquet-holder,  attaching  to  one  huge  hip  a 
feather  fan  of  varied  hues  and  enormous  size,  and  saw  that  she 
squeezed  her  fat  hands  into  the  regulation  white  kids.  This 
done  she  pronounced  the  effect  to  be  "  perfectly  gorgeous. ' ' 

"Now,  mark  my  words,  Dinah,"  she  said,  "thou  wilt  at- 
tract more  astonished  and  admiring  attention  than  any  white 
woman  at  the  play." 

And  the  prophesy,  like  all  of  those  of  "the  witch"  came 
true,  as  you  may  well  suppose. 

"The  supper-table  is  set  all  but  the  flowers.  Here  is  a 
great  basket  of  stiff,  gardener-made-up  bouquets  which  Steven- 
son sent  in.  Grace  do  thou  and  Del  tear  the  monstrosities  to 
pieces  and  rearrange  them."  Nothing  loth  the  two  obeyed. 

"How  one's  characteristics  intrude  themselves  in  all  of  our 
smallest  actions,"  said  Daisy,  admiring  their  work.  "I  think 
that  any  one  would  say  without  hesitation  that  those  small  in- 
dividual bouquets  by  the  side  of  each  plate  was  the  handiwork 
of  a  dreamy  blonde ;  or  that  that  wonderful  pyramid  of  dazzling 
bloom  in  the  center  of  the  table  was  tossed  together  by  a  dashing, 
flashing  brunette.  Is  it  not  odd,  how  our  individualities  crop 
out  in  everything?  But  I  never  knew  before  that  they  could 
be  shown  even  in  the  arrangement  of  a  few  flowers." 

When  the  merry  supper  was  over  in  which  the  three  girls 
acted  as  waiters  with  the  assistance  of  Saunders  who  had  in- 
sisted upon  remaining  at  home  that  he  might  supply  the  place 
of  the  porter,  and  indeed  of  all  the  rest  of  the  servants,  after 
they  had  had  their  own  supper,  Daisy  said:  "Suppose  we 
give  the  servants  the  pleasure  of  for  once  sitting  down  to  a  table 
which  they  have  not  had  the  work  of  laying."  So  they  arranged 
the  servants'  supper.  Grace  was  about  to  remove  the  flowers, 
when  Daisy  interfered.  "No,"  said  she,  "let  them  remain 
and  let  each  keep  their  own  as  a  souvenir  of  the  day. ' ' 

The  two  girls  laughed.  "How  very  absurd,"  cried  Grace, 
"You  surely  do  not  imagine  that  the  servants— Dinah,  for  in- 
stance—care for  such  trifles?" 

"Wait,  and  thou  wilt  see,  that  they  do  care  and  treasure 
up  all  such  trifling  services  it  may  please  their  erratic 
employers  to  render  them." 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  273 

The  St.  Aubyn  family  were  to  spend  this  one  evening  quietly 
at  home,  weaving  bright  plans  for  the  future  of  the  two  young 
couples.  Of  course  Lillian  and  Dr.  Herman  were  there,  for 
without  them  the  family  circle  would  not  now  have  been  com- 
plete, and  Howard  Gould  was  present  also.  He  was  so  united 
to  them  that  "his  presence  did  not  signify,"  as  Daisy  saucily 
told  him.  Saunders  had  had  his  orders  to  admit  no  one  that 
evening  with  the  exception  of  Howard's  brother,  Maurice,  who 
called  unexpectedly  to  bid  them  all  farewell,  his  brother  in- 
cluded, he  having  been  suddenly  summoned  abroad. 

When  they  heard  the  play-goers  return,  Grace,  Del  and 
Daisy  accompanied  by  Willis  and  Howard,  crept  into  a  pantry 
which  opened  from  a  hall  adjoining  the  supper-room,  from 
which  they  could  both  see  and  hear  all  that  occurred  within. 
When  Dinah  entered  the  room  resplendent  and  triumphant,  the 
first  thing  she  espied  was  the  handsomely  laid  repast. 

"Now,  dat's  some  o'  Missy  Daisy's  work.  She's  all  us 
thoughtful  ob  de  po',  and  she's  boun'  fo'  we  'uns  to  play 
quality  fo'  once.  Now,  jest  aint  dis  nice  to  done  set  up  to  de 
table  'thout  no  work  ob  layin'  it.  An',  my  su'z!  ef  dar  ain't 
de  table  sot  off  with  posies,  jes  as  elegant  as  can  be.  Jes'  look 
at  dem  ar  boukets.  Now,  ain't  dem  de  bery  'moral'  o'  Miss 
Grace?  An'  dat  apern  in  de  middle.  It  looks  des  as  much  like 
Miss  Del  as  two  pixters," 

(Here  Daisy  gave  each  of  the  unbelievers  such  a  pinch  to 
signify:  "Didn't  I  tell  thee  so?"  as  nearly  to  betray  their 
whereabouts. ) 

"Now,  jes  as  soon  as  dis  supper's  done  et,  I's  gwine  ter 
plump  dem  ar  posies  right  squar  on  de  top  ob  de  ice  to  perserve 
dem.  I  ain't  a  gwin'  ter  let  dat  ar  compliment  slip,  now  I  tell 
yo'  I  ain't.  Dar's  good  times  a  comin'  fo'  all  we  'uns  now. 
Jes  'member  dis  nigger  done  tole  yo'  so." 

The  eaves-droppers  watched  with  delighted  eyes  how  Dinah 
with  the  air  of  an  Ethiopian  queen  presided  at  the  banquet. 

The  guests  of  honor  were,  of  course,  the  professor  and  the 
governess.  And  it  was  very  pretty  to  see  the  dove-like  eyes  of 
the  latter  open  wide  in  pleased  astonishment  at  the  variety  of 
dainty  dishes  whose  very  names  were  unknown  to  her;  and  to 
see  with  what  deference  the  servants  waited  upon  her.  Even 
Hortense  deigned  to  instruct  her  in  the  mysteries  of  their  make- 


274  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

up.  And  how  they  emptied  the  confection  stands  into  a  huge 
paper  sack  when  told  how  very  fond  of  candies  was  the  little 
sister  who  could  not  walk,  but  who  could  sing  like  an  angel, 
and  make  so  many  varieties  of  fancy-work.  How  they  laughed 
too  with  as  keen  an  appreciation  of  the  joke  as  their  "betters" 
could  possibly  have  had,  when  Saunders  declared  that  his  was 
the  only  real  gift,  the  others  protesting  that  they  did  not  care  in 
the  least  for  sweets.  He  said  their  donation  counted  for  nothing, 
while  he  being  inordinately  fond  of  the  confections,  denied 
himself  that  the  little  one  might  have  her  fill  for  once. 

Then  another  guest  appeared.  Finding  that  the  hired  hack 
in  which  the  professor  and  the  governess  had  come  to  the  late 
banquet  was  still  waiting  at  the  door  that  it  might  convey  them 
home,  Saunders  took  it  upon  himself  to  invite  the  colored  driver 
to  share  the  repast.  The  watchers  were  divided  between  tears 
and  laughter  at  the  grandeur  of  Dinah's  reception  of  him  and 
at  the  almost  stunning  effect  upon  him  of  Dinah's  efforts  to 
entertain  him  right  royally.  They  had  at  length  to  evacuate 
the  closet  and  to  steal  slyly  up  the  stairs  for  fear  of  strangling 
from  their  efforts  to  suppress  their  laughter,  and  exposing  them- 
selves and  so  marring  the  pleasure  of  the  happy  company. 

When  the  whole  scene  was  described  for  the  edification  of 
the  family,  Del  reading  her  mother's  shocked  expression  aright 
said  laughingly:  "There,  Mammy.  Feel  no  alarm  for  the 
safety  of  your  spoons.  Dat  ar  nigger  am  too  much  awed  by  de 
attentions  paid  him  by  the  bewitching  Dinah  to  even  think 
'spoons.'  And  if  he  does  later  on  he  is  certain  to  spread  the  report 
that  the  Governor's  lady  uses  those  of  gold  studded  with  dia- 
monds." And  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  was  reassured. 

But  the  two  girls  had  learned  a  lesson  that  night,  and  did 
not  scorn  to  benefit  by  it.  They  took  each  their  turn  in  arranging 
the  flowers  for  the  dinner-table  and  each  day  sent  them  with 
the  dishes  down  stairs  to  adorn  the  servant's  table. 

"The  rings?"  Oh,  no.  Grace  and  Del  did  not  find  them 
in  their  slices  of  the  betrothal  cakes.  Instead,  one  of  them  fell 
to  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  while  the  Governor's  teeth  ground  down  upon 
the  other.  And  Daisy  declared  that  the  next  wedding  in  the 
family  after  those  of  the  two  eldest  of  their  offspring,  would 
be  the  golden  wedding  of  the  pair,  and  so  doomed  to  their 
pretended  horror,  the  two  younger  Misses  St.  Aubyn  to  a  state 
of  everlasting  spinster-hood  and  to  the  ridicule  of  the  others. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  275 

CANTO  THE  EIGHTH. 

" DAISY *S  AT  HOME." 

Daisy  had  taken  courage  at  the  new  and  pleasant  relations 
which  had  sprung  up  between  herself  and  her  husband's  family, 
and  had  invited  them  all  to  luncheon  next  day  at  her  own 
father's  house.  All  as  a  matter  of  course  accepted  the  invitation 
and  were  promptly  on  hand  at  the  appointed  hour. 

Daisy  was  not  yet  visible  and  they  were  shown  into  the 
diawing-room  to  await  her  appearance.  Great  indeed  was  the 
amazement  of  some  of  the  party  when  they  passed  from  ' '  Daisy 's 
parlor"  into  the  sacred  precincts  beyond. 

' '  Oh,  f ayther  is  not  well,  and  I  was  detained  longer  than  I 
anticipated,"  was  the  apology  offered  by  Daisy,  upon  her  tardy 
appearance. 

She  found  them  all  grouped  about  a  picture  commenting 
upon  the  beauty  and  grace  of  the  female  figure  it  portrayed. 

' '  That  is  the  most  exquisitely  beautiful  face  I  have  ever  be- 
held," said  Caroline.  "It  affects  me  as  I  supposed  only  por- 
traits could.  But  the  beauty  of  expression  is  supernatural." 

"That,"  said  Daisy,  "is  a  portrait  of  my  mother,  who  was 
said  to  have  been  the  most  perfect  beauty  who  had  queened 
it  in  London  society  for  a  century.  Is  not  the  face  exquisite? 
And  fayther  says  that  the  painter  has  not  flattered  her  in  the 
least,  but  simply  caught  and  held  that  expression  which  is 
never  seen  except  upon  the  faces  of  those  who  die  young.  But 
come.  If  thou  hast  seen  the  drawing-rooms  enough  I  will  show 
thee  through  the  remainder  of  the  house." 

"There  is  enough  here  to  entertain  one  for  an  entire  day," 
answered  Caroline.  ' '  But  since  we  are  expected  to  do  so  we  will 
admire  the  rest.  And  now,"  she  said  to  Dr.  Herman,  as  they 
paused  at  the  foot  of  the  great  staircase  to  permit  the  others  to 
pass  up  first:  "Why  did  not  you  tell  me  that  my  brother  Willis 
had  married  an  oriental  princess." 

' '  How  was  I  to  know  that  the  family  of  Governor  St.  Aubyn 
did  not  know  whom  they  were  accepting  as  a  new  member  of 


276  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

itself?"  he  questioned  in  great  surprise.  "Why,  surely,  Car- 
oline, you  must  have  known  who  Emil  Zorlange  was. ' ' 

Caroline  flushed  a  little,  then  laughed:  "Hadn't  the  most 
remote  idea  where  my  brother  Willis  got  our  sweet  Daisy.  I 
only  accepted  the  gift  the  gods  had  sent  and  asked  no  questions, 
assuming  somehow  that  I  had  better  not.  But  just  look  at 
Mammy,  Herman.  That  adorable  person  finds  herself  for  the 
first  time  in  her  life  face  to  face  with  the  thing  she  calls  her 
'family  pride,'  and  she  is  simply  astounded  at  the  deformity  of 
her  nursling.  But,  Mammy  has  her  good  qualities,  too,  and 
I'll  wager  a  pretty  penny  that  she  wins  the  race  and  shows  up 
all  right." 

"Caroline,  Caroline,"  expostulated  the  doctor,  "How  can 
you  use  such  expressions?  It  is  very  terrible  to  me  to  hear  you 
speak  in  such  a  disrespectful  manner  about  your  mother.  She 
is  surely  worthy  of  your  veneration  and  respect." 

"I  am  sure  that  I  give  Mammy  all  the  respect  that  is  her 
due.  Why  on  earth  should  I  respect  qualities  in  her  that  are  not 
respectable,  I  should  like  to  know?  And  I  won't  be  found 
fault  with.  You  knew  my  vices  before  you  asked  me  to  be  your 
wife,  and  I  dare  say  they  were  what  charmed  you.  But  if 
you  wish  to  break  your  engagement  with  me,  then  do." 

Herman  gazed  at  her  in  wonder  for  a  moment  then  smiled: 
"I  believe  that  you  are  right,  Caroline.  And  that  it  is  your 
faults  that  heighten  your  beauty.  I  love  and  respect  Mrs.  St. 
Aubyn,  and  it  pains  me  to  hear  you  speak  of  her  in  that  flippant 
manner.  But  having  won  you,  I  must  even  accept  you  as  you 
are."  Then  he  added  gently:  "I  do  not  think  that  after  all 
I  could  improve  you  in  the  least." 

"Ah,"  exclaimed  Caroline.  "I  knew  that  Mammy  was 
made  of  the  right  sort  of  material.  See !  A  narrow  mind  would 
have  resented  all  this,  or  would  have  toadied  to  Daisy's  new 
found  state;  but  Mammy  treats  her  with  just  that  amount  of 
love  and  deference  that  she  has  shown  her  since  the  reconcilia- 
tion— no  more — no  less.  Yes,  Dr.  Van  Valkenburg,  I  think  I 
may  say  that  I  find  Mammy  really  worthy  of  my  respect." 

Daisy  showed  the  party  through  the  entire  house,  the 
library,  the  study,  the  dining-room,  and  some  of  the  chambers. 

"This  was  my  mother's  suite  of  apartments,"  said  Daisy. 
"She  had  a  fancy  for  the  upper  floor,  and  we  have  kept  them 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  277 

just  as  she  left  them.  My  fayther  often  comes  here  and  so  do 
I.  Here  it  is  that  we  speak  most  frequently  of  her,  my  mother, 
who  died  so  young  and  was  so  beautiful.  These  are  some  of  the 
gowns  in  which  she  won  the  admiration  of  all  the  court.  Fayther 
gave  them  to  me,  together  with  my  mother's  jewels.  But  I  never 
cared  to  wear  them.  I  like  best  to  keep  them  so  and  to  come 
and  dust  and  arrange  them,  and  to  fancy  her  arrayed  in  each  by 
turn.  These  are  but  a  few  of  her  jewels,  the  finest  are  in 
the  safety  vaults  at  the  bank.  If  I  had  known  that  thou  would 
come  today,  I  would  have  sent  for  them.  Some  of  them  would 
interest  thee.  Mammy,  thou  art  such  an  admirer  of  gems." 

"Why,  Daisy,  there  is  a  coronet  upon  some,  indeed  upon 
almost  all  of  these  things.  What  does  it  mean?"  questioned 
the  irrepressible  Del. 

"My  mother  was  a  German  countess,  in  her  own  right," 
answered  Daisy  in  a  matter-of-fact  manner,  that  really  awed 
Mrs.  St.  Aubyn,  who  was  a  worshipper  of  "rank."  "When 
her  brother,  the  Count,  died,  he  sent  her  all  of  the  family  jewels. 
She  had,  however,  married  my  fayther  and  consequently  never 
assumed  the  title,  nor  did  she  ever  visit  the  estate,  which  was 
well-nigh  swamped  by  a  mortgage.  My  fayther  sold  it  a  few 
years  since  to  a  wealthy  American  with  the  privilege  of  assum- 
ing the  title  of  Count  Waldorf." 

"But  Daisy,  my  best-beloved,"  said  the  Governor,  "you 
should  have  inherited  both  and  yourself  become  the  Countess 
Waldorf,  to  the  never-ending  satisfaction  of  'My-Nerva'  who 
would  then  have  been  able  to  speak  of  you  as  'My  dear  daughter, 
the  Countess.'  ' 

Daisy  laughed  and  said:  "I  very  much  prefer  the  title 
which  I  now  possess,  that  of  '  Mrs.  Willis  St.  Aubyn, '  ' '  and  she 
cast  a  loving  glance  at  her  young  husband,  who  answered  both 
words  and  glance  by  wafting  a  kiss  to  her. 

"Now,  this  room,"  began  Willis,  who  was  assisting  in  the 
display.  Then  he  hastily  closed  the  door  and  in  a  stage  aside, 
said:  "Oh,  I  forgot.  This  is  Blue  Beard's  secret  chamber. 
Its  contents  are  a  state  secret,  and  I  promised  faithfully  not 
to  reveal  them.  Ah,  Grace,  be  merciful,"  as  his  sister,  noting 
the  fact  that  he  had  not  relocked  the  door  to  the  forbidden  room, 
boldly  threw  it  open  and  looked  in.  Then,  giving  a  little  shriek 
of  delight,  she  rushed  in,  crying:  "Why,  this  is  the  home  of 
the  fairies;  a  regular  dolls'  palace." 


278  LA   GRAN   QUIBIEA 

In  spite  of  Daisy's  entreaties,  the  rest  of  the  party  followed 
and  cries  of  wonder  and  delight  resounded  upon  all  sides. 

''Why,  yes,  I  own  to  a  very  great  weakness  for  dolls,  con- 
fessed Grace,  catching  Willis's  eyes  fixed  quizzically  upon  her, 
"I  know  Willis  that  you  saw  me  that  afternoon  when  they  all 
left  me  alone  at  home  because  I  had  sore  throat.  I  had  come 
across  one  of  my  old  dolls  in  a  bureau-drawer  and  played  with 
it  all  the  afternoon,  remodelling  its  dress  according  to  the  latest 
'  mode. '  And  I  assure  you  that  I  have  not  spent  a  more  pleasant 
or  more  profitable  afternoon  for  many  a  day." 

"Oh,  how  I  wish  that  I  had  known,"  cried  Del.  "Why, 
I  often  play  with  and  dress  my  dolls,  but  I  do  it  on  'the  sly,'  and 
have  wished  but  dared  not  ask  for  company  for  fear  of  being 
ridiculed.  But  this  lays  over  anything  that  I  ever  saw.  Why, 
there  are  fully  one  hundred  of  these  of  all  sizes  and  both  sexes. 
My!  what  beauties!  Regular  little  mannikins." 

Daisy  laughed  and  scolded  in  the  same  breath,  then  ex- 
plained. "I  had  always  a  passion  for  dolls.  And  then  it  oc- 
curred to  me  to  have  their  help  as  well  as  company  in  my 
studies.  I  remember  that  the  first  large  dolls  were  bought  with 
the  money  fayther  had  given  me  to  purchase  my  first  set  of 
jewelry.  He  gave  me  three  hundred  dollars  and  bade  me  select 
them  to  suit  myself.  I  ordered  these  mannikins  instead.  I 
Iliink  1  SOP  I  ho  look  of  mingled  amusement  and  disgust  which 
came  over  fayther  s  face,  as  when  he  came  upon  me  here 
and  asked  me  to  show  him  the  birthday  present  I  had  purchased 
with  the  money,  I  exclaimed,  waving  my  arms  in  true  dramatic 
style  including  my  new  acquisitions  in  an  hysterical  embrace, 
'These  are  my  jewels,  fayther,  these  are  my  jewels.'  Thou 
seest,"  continued  Daisy,  when  the  laugh  had  subsided,  "these 
are  all  historical  characters.  I  have  had  them  made  as  near 
life-size  as  I  could  and  as  true  to  life  as  possible.  And  I  believe 
that  they  have  not  only  aided  me  in  the  study  of  history  and 
ethnology,  but  in  dressing  them  as  they  are  supposed  to  have 
been  habited  in  their  day  and  generation,  I  have  gained  that  art 
in  dressing  upon  which  thou  hast  all  been  pleased  to  compliment 
me.  Of  course,"  she  added  archly,  "Adam  and  Eve  gave  me 
but  little  scope  in  the  development  of  my  taste  and  ingenuity, 
but  the  rest— 

"And  you  have  no  idea  of  the  help  we  had  from  these  dolls 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  279 

in  getting  our  lessons,"  said  Howard.  ''And  then  the  real 
pleasure  and  fun  we  have  had  in  assuming  their  characters, 
and  hiding  behind  them  made  them  appear  to  carry  on  unending 
dialogues  and  debates.  Why,  I  can  at  this  moment  scarcely 
refrain  from  throwing  myself  into  an  attitude  and  declaiming 
my  favorite  Coriolanus." 

"This  is  of  course  the  collection  of  years,"  resumed  Daisy. 
"I  was  so  infatuated  with  my  acquisition  of  knowledge  after 
this  pleasing  fashion  that  I  squandered  the  whole  of  my  pin 
money  for  new  subjects.  But  I  owe  much  to  the  generosity  of 
Virginia,  Howard,  and  Willis,  who  were  as  much  wrapped  up 
in  them  as  I,  and  who  denied  themselves  many  luxuries — neces- 
sities perhaps— that  the  collection  might  be  perfected.  Then 
fayther  grew  reconciled  and  quite  interested.  He  has  added  but 
one  to  my  collection  of  mannikins,  however. ' '  Then  she  unveiled 
a  shrouded  figure  and  amid  shrieks  of  laughter  explained  that 
it  was  meant  for  Queen  Victoria,  whom  her  fayther  was  un- 
reasonable enough  to  blame  for  his  own  almost  'exile'  from  old 
England  and  for  the  death  of  his  beautiful  young  wife,  who 
had  never  been  well  after  that  enforced  winter  voyage,  and 
for  all  the  ills  of  life  which  had  befallen  him.  "Make  her  any- 
thing that  is  coarse  and  red  and  blowsy,'  he  said  to  the  artist. 
And  the  poor  man  confessed  to  me  that  fayther  would  not  ac- 
cept the  figure  until  he  had  three  times  added  an  additional 
flush  to  'Viccy's'  already  too  pronounced  complexion.  And  I 
will  never  forget  the  triumphant  pride  with  which  he  presented 
me  with  this  new  treasure  which  he  still  declares  to  be  an  exact 
likeness  of  England's  Queen  as  he  knew  her  in  person.  And 
was  it  thou,  Willis,  or  Howard,  or  both  who  found  him  here 
shaking  his  fist  at,  and  apostrophizing  the  Queen  of  'Hold 
Hingland,'  as  a  'gay  old  girl,'  and  abusing  her  in  no  measured 
terms  for  the  sins  which  were  her  own  and  those  which  were 
not?" 

"We  both  were  witnesses  to  that  'divine  tragedy,'  "  said 
Howard.  And  assuming  an  attitude  he  said:  "It  was  some- 
thing after  this  sort  was  it  not,  Willis?"  Then  he  shook  a 
wrathful  fist  under  the  up-turned  nose  of  the  Queen  and  com- 
menced a  tirade  in  which  the  torrent  of  abuse  showered  upon 
her  devoted  head  was  smothered  to  some  extent  by  the  laughter 
of  the  audience. 


280  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

"Oh,  Daisy,  do  have  a  "doll  matinee,'  "  coaxed  Grace  and 
Del,  after  viewing  the  entire  collection  of  kings  and  queens 
and  maids  and  gents  of  honor,  and  poets  and  painters,  and  all 
the  rest 

"Agreed.  But  upon  one  condition,"  assented  Daisy.  "And 
that  is  that  each  of  thee  all  choose  a  person  to  represent  and 
copy  that  person  as  near  to  the  life  as  possible  just  as  we  used 
to  do." 

"Agreed,"  they  assented  in  their  turn.  And  a  very 
pleasant  half -hour  was  spent  in  selecting  their  respective  dolls 
for  the  matinee,  which  Daisy  promised  for  that  day  two  weeks. 

"But,  Carlie,  what  character  art  thou  to  take,  or  dost  thou 
intend  to  keep  it  a  secret  for  the  purpose  of  giving  us  a  grand 
surprise  ? ' ' 

"Oh,  no,"  was  the  answer.  "There  is  but  one  historical 
personage  here  whom  I  feel  myself  equal  to  representing.  I 
will  be  Queen  Victoria,  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  will  give  an 
address  to  the  English  Parliament." 

"Good,"  quoth  Daisy  merrily.  "My  fayther  will  not  then 
refuse  to  make  up  our  audience  and  will  be  in  ecstacies.  Two 
weeks  from  today  then,"  said  Daisy.  "That  will  give  thee 
all  ample  time  to  work  up  thy  parts.  So  now  for  luncheon." 

Both  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  and  Caroline  pleaded  a  former  en- 
gagement, but  Daisy  insisted  that  they  should  disappoint  the 
other  parties  and  not  her,  so  they  finally  consented  to  remain 
if  permitted  to  eat  without  removing  their  bonnets,  declaring 
that  their  hair  was  not  arranged  to  be  seen  without  covering. 

Daisy  promptly  looped  the  strings,  converting  these  airy 
bits  of  lace  into  a  pretty  headdress,  and  every  one  declared 
that  they  were  extremely  becoming  to  the  wearers. 

"Daisy,"  said  Caroline,  "I  think  that  you  have  the  most 
perfect  taste  in  dress  of  any  one  I  have  ever  known.  But  do 
you  know  that  costume  of  yours  would  be  bizarre  upon  any 
person  except  yourself?" 

Daisy  smiled.  "I  love  to  dress  in  this  bizarre  sty^e,  and 
air  all  of  my  caprices  in  dress  when  I  am  at  home— in  my 
fayther 's  house,"  she  corrected.  "Fayther  likes  me  to  indulge 
every  whim  and  this  is  one  of  his  favorite  gowns." 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  281 

"No  one  except  yourself  could  possibly  wear  it  without 
criticisms,"  replied  Caroline.  "But  upon  you  it  is  the  very 
prettiest  costume  imaginable." 

Daisy's  dress  was  of  dark  blue  velvet  made  perfectly  plain 
and  was  buttoned  from  throat  to  hem  with  buttons  of  wrought 
silver.  She  wore  a  collarette  of  silver  filagree  and  belt  of  the 
same  workmanship  studded  with  fine  turquoises,  and  her  soft 
dark  curls  were  caught  together  by  a  comb  to  match.  This  was 
a  costume  which  must  have  sorely  tried  a  face  or  form  less 
perfect,  but  upon  Daisy  looked  as  if  it  were  the  one  type  of 
dress  which  suited  her,  and  the  picture  she  made  in  it  was  with- 
out flaw. 

Seated  at  the  luncheon  table  which  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  de- 
clared to  be  as  recherche  as  was  Daisy  herself,  Daisy 
broached  the  subject  of  the  change  which  she  and  Willis  con- 
templated. Loud  as  were  the  protests  of  all  at  first,  they  finally 
became  reconciled  to  the  scheme,  especially  as  the  Governor 
entered  into  it  with  such  zest. 

"But,  my  dears,  instead  of  buying  a  nasty  new  house  for 
the  purpose  of  having  the  chance  of  educating  yourselves,  a 
most  ludicrous  scheme  in  my  opinion  for  a  married  couple,  why 
do  you  not  come  here  and  keep  your  invalid  father  company. 
The  place  is  most  beautiful,  in  spite  of  its  unpretentious  out- 
side," suggested  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn. 

' '  Ah,  Mammy,  thou  hast  given  me  the  desire  of  my  heart, ' ' 
cried  Daisy.  "And  if  the  rest  approve,"  she  looked  coaxingiy 
at  the  Governor,  who  nodded  a  most  decided  approval  of  the 
plan. 

Daisy  ran  off  at  once  to  acquaint  her  "own  particular 
parent,"  as  she  was  wont  to  call  him,  and  in  the  pleasure  that 
he  felt  in  once  more  having  his  "one  ewe  lamb"  returned  to 
the  fold  he  left  his  chamber  for  the  first  time  since  the  reception 
ball  that  he  might  give  thanks  in  person  for  this,  and  no  one 
there  but  noted  the  sad  change  which  had  been  wrought  in  him 
since  Daisy's  marriage  and  seeming  desertion  of  him  because 
of  the  senseless  prejudice  of  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn. 

All  was  settled  amicably  and  the  two  young  people  were 
given  leave  to  make  the  desired  change  of  habitation  so  soon 
as  the  wedding  which  was  to  close  the  season's  festivities,  was 
over. 


282  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

1 '  How  very  nice, ' '  said  Grace.  ' '  I  invite  myself  to  luncheon 
every  day.  It  will  be  just  splendid  to  have  some  place  to  drop 
in  at  all  hours  of  the  day. ' '  , 

"We  expect  to  work  and  not  to  play,"  said  Daisy.  "And 
I  charge  thee  all  never  to  appear  at  this  door  unless  especially 
invited."  Then  in  pity  for  the  howl  of  dismay  they  set  up  she 
said:  "Well  thou  art  any  or  all  of  thee  welcome  to  share  our 
breakfast-table  talk,  provided  thou  gettest  up  early  enough.  But 
from  half-past  eight  o'clock  until  evening  our  doors  will  be 
closed  to  thee.  We  must  study  very  hard,  Willis  and  I,  to  make 
up  for  the  time  we  have  lost  in  this  winter's  dissipation." 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  283 

CANTO  THE  NINTH. 

"POINT-LACE  AND  DIAMONDS/' 

The  St.  Aubyn  family  were  at  the  lunch  table.  The  Gov- 
ernor and  Herbert  had  gone  back  to  the  office  but  the  remainder 
of  the  family  together  with  Lillian  Cavendish  lingered  over 
the  table.  The  sole  topic  of  conversation  now-a-days  seemed  to 
be  the  approaching  wedding.  "For,"  as  Daisy  said,  "no  mat- 
ter what  theme  was  broached  it  always  merged  into  'the  great 
event.'  ' 

Now  it  was  the  dress  of  the  brides  that  was  under  discussion. 
Caroline  declared  that  the  "regulation  white"  was  very  unbe- 
coming to  her  dark  style  of  beauty,  ,and  that  she  had  half  a 
mind  to  shock  the  proprieties  by  wearing  black. 

"Oh,"  said  Daisy,  "that  is  because  thou  dost  not  under- 
stand the  importance  of  Hints.'  There  are  as  many  shades  of 
white  as  of  any  other  color,  and  one  of  them  is  certain  to  be 
becoming  to  any  complexion.  Thou,  Carlie  and  Del,  must 
wear  that  rich  yellowish  white,  which  is  the  next  thing  to  cream 
in  color;  while  the  only  tint  that  suits  a  blonde  like  Lillian  or 
Grace  is  that  dead  ivory  white." 

"I  think  that  Daisy  must  be  correct,"  said  Lillian.  "And 
that  solves  the  question  which  has  always  puzzled  me,  namely, 
why  some  of  my  white  dresses  are  extremely  becoming  to  me 
while  others  are  vice  versa." 

"I  will  prove  the  fact  to  thee.  Wait  one  moment."  And 
Daisy  left  the  room,  returning  a  short  time  later  with  a  quantity 
of  the  two  shades  of  white  upon  her  arm,  displaying  the  effect 
by  placing  each  in  turn  close  to  the  faces  of  Caroline  and  of 
Lillian,  to  the  astonishment  of  those  who  had  scouted  her  theory 
of  tints,  declaring  that  "white  was  white,"  and  that  was  all 
there  was  about  it. 

"Thou,  my  peerless  Calla  Lily,  must  always  select  thy 
own  particular  shade  of  white,  while  although  Carlie  looks  ex- 
tremely black  in  the  pure  ivory,  so  soon  as  it  is  changed  to  the 
yellowish  tint  she  will  look  the  resplendent  creature  that  she 
really  is." 


284  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

All  were  loud  in  their  expression  of  wonder  and  of  pleas- 
ure too  for  both  brides  and  bridesmaids  wished  to  wear  white, 
but  all  wished  to  appear  at  their  very  best  as  well. 

"What  dost  thou  think  about  it,  Willis?    Am  I  not  right?" 

Willis  looked  from  his  plate  where  he  had  been  simply 
toying  with  his  food  and  replied  crossly:  "Why,  I  think  that 
you  had  better  leave  all  that  to  the  modiste." 

Daisy  stared  at  him  for  a  moment  in  sheer  amazement,  then 
she  threw  the  shining  fabrics  over  her  arm  and  turning,  left  the 
room  without  a  word. 

As  soon  as  Daisy  had  gone,  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  turned  and  in 
a  more  severe  tone  than  she  had  ever  been  known  to  use  to  her 
favorite  son  said:  "Willis,  I  am  surprised  at  you.  How  could 
you  speak  so  harshly  to  Daisy?  You  know  how  very  sensitive 
she  is." 

Meaning  smiles  were  exchanged  among  the  family  group  at 
this,  but  Willis  looking  languidly,  replied  in  apparent  surprise : 
"Impossible,  Mammy.  I  cannot  imagine  myself  speaking  harsh- 
ly to  Daisy." 

"But  you  did,"  persisted  his  mother,  "and  most  unreason- 
ably, too." 

' '  Then, ' '  said  Willis,  rising  wearily  from  the  table,  ' '  I  will, 
with  your  permission,  go  and  make  my  peace  with  her,"  and  he, 
too,  left  the  room. 

All  became  more  and  more  interested  in  the  discussion  of  the 
wedding  toilettes.  Only  Dr.  Herman  seemed  somewhat  distrait, 
glancing  at  intervals  from  Willis's  untouched  plate  toward  the 
door  as  if  expecting  something. 

At  length  the  summons  came.  The  door  swung  open.  No 
one  appeared,  but  Daisy's  voice  called  peremptorily:  "Mien  Her- 
man." 

"Mien  Herman,  indeed,"  grumbled  Caroline,  "When 
will  that  saucy  chit  remember  that  you  are  'Mien  Herman'  and 
mine  only,  now?" 

The  doctor  made  a  laughing  rejoinder,  but  as  he  turned  his 
back  to  them,  looked  grave,  as  softly  closing  the  door  behind  him, 
he  glanced  up  and  down  the  corridor  for  the  owner  of  the  voice. 
At  length  he  espied  Daisy  at  the  top  of  the  great  staircase,  and 
in  half  a  dozen  strides  he  was  at  her  side,  and  the  two  were 
hurrying  along  the  upper  hall  toward  the  door  which  shut  off 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  285 

her  own  apartments  from  the  rooms  below,  before  he  found 
breath  to  question  her.  ' '  Where  is  he  ?  " 

' '  In  my  boudoir, ' '  replied  Daisy.  ' '  And  in  a  dead  faint.  I 
did  what  I  could  to  bring  him  to  his  senses,  but  all  in  vain.  Then 
I  was  forced  to  call  thee.  I  fear  that  he  is  threatened  with  a 
long  and  severe  illness." 

"Yes,"  assented  the  doctor.    "I  will  ring  for  his  mother." 

"Thou  wilt  do  nothing  of  the  kind.  Saunders  is  now  put- 
ting him  to  bed  in  my  boudoir  which  is  more  pleasant  than  his 
own  chamber.  It  is  not  necessary  to  alarm  the  whole  household 
until  everything  is  settled.  As  for  the  nursing,  I  will  do  that  my- 
self." She  spoke  very  decidedly,  and  added  in  answer  to  the 
doctor's  quizzical  smile :  "I  am  his  wife  and  will  not  give  up  my 
right  to  nurse  him  even  to  his  mother.  Feel  my  pulse,  Mien  Her- 
man, it  beats  steady  and  true.  Thou  mayst  have  a  skilled  hired 
nurse,  if  thou  pleasest;  but  I  will  not  relinquish  my  place  at  his 
bedside  to  any  one.  Thou  need  not  fear  for  me.  I  promise  thee 
that  I  will  take  plenty  of  rest  and  out-door  exercise.  But  give  up 
the  care  of  my  husband  to  another,  I  will  not." 

And  so  it  was  settled.  The  rooms  were  arranged  and  the 
young  wife  was  seated  at  the  bedside  of  Willis,  who  had  been 
brought  out  of  his  long  faint  only  to  become  delirious,  before  any 
of  the  family  even  suspected  the  near  approach  of  the  "Black 
Camel"  to  their  door. 

For  many  weary  weeks  Willis  lay  at  the  point  of  death, 
carefully  watched  by  all,  but  most  carefully  by  the  young  wife, 
who  utterly  refused  to  leave  his  bedside,  and  whose  presence  ap- 
peared to  be  necessary  to  his  slender  hold  upon  life,  since  even  in 
the  height  of  his  delirium  he  seemed  to  feel  or  to  miss  her  pres- 
ence beside  his  couch,  and  was  restless  and  dissatisfied  when  she 
was  away. 

Daisy  made  an  excellent  nurse.  She  never  irritated  her 
charge,  but  sat  beside  him  knitting,  or  sewing  and  singing  and 
chatting  as  if  his  poor  dazed  brain  could  recognize  the  fact.  She 
made  a  picture,  too,  at  which  none  wearied  of  looking,  with  her 
pretty  linen  dress  and  her  curls  twisted  up  in  true  matronly 
fashion,  watching  and  waiting  for  the  change  to  come.  But  her 
lovely  face  grew  wan  and  pale  and  her  starry  eyes  grew  heavy 
with  her  tireless  care.  When  urged  to  leave  the  room  her  only 
answer  was:  "But  suppose  that  he  should  awake  to  conscious- 
ness and  not  find  me  here.  I  think  that  it  would  frighten  him  to 
death." 


286  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

Dr.  Herman  was  almost  as  tireless  in  his  attendance,  feeling 
that  this  dire  calamity  which  had  befallen  his  young  brother  was 
due  in  part  to  his  own  carelessness  at  the  time  they  had  almost 
lost  Daisy.  And  Daisy  had  guessed  the  truth.  The  doctor  had 
answered  evasively  when  questioned,  but  Daisy  said :  "I  awoke 
that  night  to  find  my  right  arm  bandaged,  and  later  I  found  that 
Willis  had  just  the  same  sort  of  wound  upon  his  arm.  And  I 
guessed  that  I  had  been  worse  than  he  pretended,  and  that  he 
had  given  his  own  life-blood  to  me." 

At  length  there  came  a  day  when  Daisy,  in  the  act  of  dress- 
ing, succumbed  and  fell  unconscious  to  the  floor.  They  placed 
her  by  the  side  of  'Willis  upon  his  bed,  and  watched  long  and 
anxiously  for  her  return  to  consciousness,  but  in  vain.  She  lay 
there  like  the  sleeping  beauty,  but  rigid  and  breathless  as  if  dead. 

In  their  alarm  the  family  wept  over  her  as  for  one  dead,  and 
said  that  the  blow  must  kill  Willis  should  he  awaken  to  conscious- 
ness now. 

But  Dr.  Van  Valkenburg  said :  ' '  There  is  no  danger.  She 
i«  completely  worn  out  and  tired  Nature  is  but  asserting  herself. 
It  will  not  in  the  least  surprise  me  if  this  syncope  lasts  for  many 
days.  When  she  awakes  from  this  stupor  she  will  be  fresh  as  the 
flower  whose  name  she  bears.  But  this  I  warn  you,  you  must 
never  let  her  know  the  length  of  time  that  she  has  been  dead  to 
the  world.  It  would  have  a  most  disastrous  effect  upon  one  of  her 
delicate  and  sensitive  organism.  I  charge  every  one  of  you  to 
make  her  believe  that  she  has,  but  had  a  long  and  refreshing 
sleep. ' ' 

Day  after  day  passed  in  this  anxious  watching.  The  sick- 
room had  been  transformed  into  a  family  sitting-room,  where 
they  all  came  and  went,  fearful  of  losing  one  phase  of  the 
changes  that  passed  over  either  of  their  loved  ones. 

Willis  murmured  and  babbled  and  fretted  and  moaned.  But 
Daisy  never  stirred,  or  so  far  as  any  one  could  see,  even  breathed. 
Twenty  times  a  day  each  would  bend  over  her,  lifting  her  hand, 
which  if  pulseless  was  not  cold,  but  would  fall  helpl-ess  when  re- 
leased, and  it  required  all  of  Dr.  Herman's  nerve  and  self-con- 
trol to  prevent  the  sorrowing  family  from  a  noisy  outburst  of 
grief.  He  could  only  keep  them  quiet  by  threatening  to  expel 
from  the  sick-room  altogether  any  or  all  who  disturbed  the  sil- 
ence necessary  for  the  welfare  of  his  patients. 

None  of  the  watchers  wished  to  go.     The  faces  of  the  two 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  287 

invalids  had  a  sort  of  facination  for  them  all.  So  time  passed  on 
until  the  seventh  day  after  they  had  laid  Daisy  upon  the  couch. 
There  seemed  to  be  little  or  no  change  in  either  until  about  the 
middle  of  the  day,  when  Willis  had  stopped  his  senseless  babbling 
and  sunk  into  a  deep  stupor. 

It  was  growing  late  in  the  afternoon  when  Daisy,  without 
warning,  slipped  from  the  bed  and  after  casting  a  hasty  glance 
toward  Willis,  without  paying  the  slightest  heed  to  the  other  oc- 
cupants of  the  room,  crossed  over  to  her  dressing-room,  and  from 
thence  after  a  moment  or  two  they  heard  her  voice  in  wilful  dis- 
pute with  Janet :  "  I  tell  thee,  Janet,  I  will  have  that  blue  cham- 
bray.  Get  it  for  me  at  once,  or  I  will  send  thee  home  to  Fayther's 
and  call  Hortense  instead  to  help  me  dress." 

That  strange  faint  had  come  upon  Daisy  unawares,  and  now 
as  she  slid  from  the  couch  and  made  her  way  across  the  room  she 
had  on  nothing  but  a  chemise,  which  was  hanging  from  one 
shoulder.  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  was  much  scandalized.  She  turned 
to  Lillian  who  was  looking  after  Daisy  with  a  smile  of  pleasure 
upon  her  own  fair  face,  (now  Lillian  was  the  model  of  all  that 
was  grand,  beautiful  and  perfect  in  womankind  in  the  eyes  of 
Mrs.  St.  Aubyn)  and  in  her  new-born  love  for  her  son  Willis's 
wife,  she  excused  her  appearance  to  Lillian. 

Lillian  smiled :  ' '  Daisy  is  the  most  perfectly  beautiful  creat- 
ure in  existence  in  my  opinion.  She  is  like  a  fine  bit  of  chiseled 
marble  endowed  with  life,  and  the  tints  of  an  exquisite  painting. 
I  always  take  pleasure  in  looking  and  wondering  at  her.  I  do 
not  believe  I  should  be  shocked  in  the  least  degree  should 
she  appear  before  me  perfectly  nude." 

The  effort  upon  the  part  of  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  to  reconcile  her 
own  shocked  sensibilities  with  her  overweening  respect  for  Lil- 
lian's judgment  was  ludicrous  in  the  extreme,  and  the  undutiful 
Caroline  laughed  outright. 

"No,"  repeated  Lillian,  decidedly:  "I  should  be  no  more 
shocked  if  Daisy  stood  before  me  stark  naked  than  I  should  at 
beholding  a  bit  of  sculptured  marble  or  a  lovely  picture." 

When  Daisy  appeared  she  was  attired  like  a  school-girl  in  a 
pretty  blue  chambray  dress,  which  reached  only  to  the  tops  of  her 
pretty  little  boots;  while  her  curls  were  loosed  and  held  in  place 
by  a  blue  ribbon  snood.  A  delicate  tea  rose  of  palest  pink  held 
the  bit  of  snowy  lace  at  her  throat,  and  another  was  thrust  care- 
lesslv  in  her  belt. 


288  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

"I  want  to  surprise  Willis  when  he  awakes,  which  is  cer- 
tain to  be  very  soon  now, ' '  she  said,  as  she  saluted  each  in  turn. 
* '  But  how  came  thee  to  let  me  sleep  so  long  ?  Why,  I  declare  I  lay 
down  at  daybreak  and  now  it  must  be  half-past  four  in  the  after- 
noon. However,  I  thank  thee  instead  of  scolding,  as  I  should 
have  done  had  Willis  awakened  while  I  slept.  I  am  so  refreshed, 
and  he  will  require  much  attention  whilst  convalescing,  thou 
knowest. ' ' 

"But  Daisy,"  said  Lillian  softly,  "You  must  not  be  too 
sanguine.  Willis  is  not  yet  out  of  danger. ' ' 

"He  will  not  die,  Lillian.  Something  must  have  told  me  if 
Willis  was  sick  unto  death.  I  am  so  much  a  part  of  him  thou 
seest,  that  I  must  have  known." 

Dr.  Van  Valkenburg  entered  the  room  as  Daisy  took  up  her 
accustomed  place  by  the  bedside  of  Willis.  He  smiled,  well 
pleased  with  what  he  saw,  then  said:  "He  will  soon  awake  to 
consciousness.  But  I  warn  you  all  that  not  one  word  must  be 
spoken  to  him  by  any  other  than  his  wife.  And,  Daisy,  that  must 
be  wisely  done.  The  least  excitement  at  this  particular  juncturo 
might  prove  fatal.  He  will  awake  perfectly  rational  but  so  weak 
that  he  will  either  sink  at  once  into  a  healthful  sleep,  or  sup 
away  into  the  Valley  of  Death.  It  would  be  better  for  all  except- 
ing Daisy,  in  whom  I  have  the  greatest  confidence,  to  leave  the 
room;  but  I  will  not  insist  since  you  wish  to  remain,  but  remem- 
ber, not  a  movement,  not  a  word,  or  I  will  not  be  responsible  for 
the  consequences." 

Then  Willis's  eyes  opened  for  a  few  minutes.  Later  they 
met  the  arch  and  smiling  glance  of  Daisy,  and  lingered  with  an 
expression  of  relief  and  pleasure  upon  her  face.  "It  is  true, 
then,"  he  whispered  faintly,  "you  have  promised  to  be  my  wife." 

Daisy  laughed  and  clapped  her  hands  gleefully,  saying:  "I 
knew  that  I  should  trick  him  in  this  dress.  The  poor  fellow  has 
quite  forgotten  his  three  months  of  wedded  bliss,  and  thinks 
that  we  are  only  now  engaged,"  and  she  laughed  again  merrily. 

"Willis  answered  with  a  dubious  little  smile  then  whispered : 
"Sing  to  me,  Daisy." 

Dr.  Herman  was  occupied  during  this  little  scene  between 
the  two  in  keeping  the  other  occupants  of  the  room  in  check. 
Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  especially  insisting  upon  intruding  herself  upon 
her  son's  attention,  and  was  only  restrained  from  doing  so  by 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  289 

the  doctor's  strong  encircling  arm  and  his  threat  to  forcibly  ex- 
pel her  from  the  room  if  she  dared  even  to  breathe  aloud. 

Daisy  holding  fast  the  hand  of  him  who  had,  as  it  were, 
been  restored  from  death  to  life,  sang  to  him  softly,  while  the 
eyes  which  rested  so  admiringly  upon  her  radiant  face  closed,  and 
Willis  fell  into  a  profound  sleep. 

"The  danger  is  past  for  a  time,"  said  Dr.  Herman,  as  he 
released  his  hold  upon  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn.  "Forgive  me,  dear 
madame,  for  this  display  of  necessary  violence.  When  Willis 
wakes  again  you  may  approach  him,  but  I  warn  you  once  again 
that  you  must  not  excite  him  in  the  least." 

Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  grumbled  a  little,  but  obeyed.  And  when 
Willis  opened  his  eyes  for  the  second  time,  Daisy  was  still  sitting 
beside  him  singing  softly,  while  his  mother  stood  leaning  her 
hands  upon  his  young  wife's  shoulder.  "I  am  so  glad,"  he 
whispered.  ' '  I  dreamed  that  you  did  not,  that  you  could  not  love 
Daisy,  Mammy  dear." 

"No  one  could  help  loving  Daisy,"  was  the  gentle  reply. 
And  Willis  sank  again  into  deep  and  dreamless  sleep. 

He  awoke  and  slumbered  again  many  times,  gaining 
strength  with  each  awakening  until  Dr.  Herman  declared  his  pa- 
tient out  of  danger,  and  upon  the  road  to  speedy  recovery. 

Then  folowed  a  long  and  tedious  convalescene,  most  try- 
ing both  to  the  invalid  and  the  nurses,  and  Willis's  peevish  de- 
mands drove  all  from  his  bedside  except  the  tireless  young  wife 
who  seemed  to  gain  in  beauty  and  in  strength  each  day,  and 
catered  to  his  whims  with  unceasing  devotion,  laughing,  singing 
or  scolding  all  the  live-long  day,  and  sometimes  all  the  livelong 
night  as  well. 


290  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA. 

CANTO  THE  TENTH. 

"FLUTTERING  WINGS." 

Willis  was  out  of  danger.  The  St.  Aubyn  family  had  re- 
sumed their  former  gaieties  and  the  preparations  for  the  double 
wedding,  which  had  been  interrupted  by  Willis's  illness,  went  on 
apace. 

Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  gave  a  second  ball  to  celebrate  the  announce- 
ment of  the  double  engagement.  The  next  morning  after  the  ball 
at  twelve,  Daisy  made  her  appearance  in  the  breakfast-room,  and 
was  warmly  greeted. 

' '  I  had  my  breakfast  hours  and  hours  ago, ' '  she  said.  ' '  But 
if  thou  wilt  permit  me  to  call  it  'luncheon,'  I  will  let  thee  serve 
me  with  a  cup  of  tea,  Mammy. ' ' 

"You  shall  have  it  and  call  it  'dinner'  if  you  like.  I  am  so 
grateful  to  you  for  your  assistance  in  making  my  second  ball  the 
second  grand  success  of  the  season." 

Daisy  stared.    ' '  But  I  was  not  present, ' '  she  said. 

"But  you  were  made  all  the  more  conspicious  by  your  ab- 
sence. As  Mammy  says,  you  were  the  great  success  of  the  even- 
ing. I  never  heard  you  sing  so  divinely  before.  It  was  a  real 
surprise  and  treat  to  our  guests,"  said  Grace. 

"Oh,"  cried  Daisy,  deeply  chagrined,  "I  am  extremely 
sorry,  Mammy,  that  I  disturbed  the  festivities  below  stairs." 

"Not  so,"  was  the  suave  reply,  "I  assure  you  that  the  change 
was  a  delightful  surprise  and  helped  me  out  amazingly." 

"But  Daisy,  how  came  you  to  be  singing  at  so  late  an  hour?" 
questioned  Del.  "Why,  it  must  have  been  long  after  midnight." 

"Well"  said  Daisy,  assuming  her  very  best  story-telling 
manner,  "This  is  how  it  all  happened.  I  have  been  accustomed 
to  sing  Willis  to  sleep  each  night  since  his  convalescence.  Some- 
times I  accompany  myself  upon  the  piano  in  my  boudoir,  but 
more  often  upon  the  great  organ  at  the  end  of  the  hall.  Willis 
likes  that  best.  Well,  thou  all  knowest  just  how  cranky  he  has 
been  since  his  illness.  I  am  certain  that  I  possess  the  patience  of 
a  Mrs.  Job,  but  sometimes  he  tries  me  even  beyond  my  powers 
of  endurance.  Yesterday  was  one  of  his  very  worst  days.  And 
I  declare  upon  my  word  of  honor  that  I  was  well-nigh  distracted 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  291 

with  the  attempt  to  humor  at  least  half  of  his  caprices.  I  used  ail 
manner  of  cajoleries  and  bribes,  and  when  these  failed  I  resorted 
to  threats.  Finally  I  was  compelled  to  employ  the  most  potent 
of  them  all.  I  told  him  that  I  would  not  sing  him  to  sleep.  Even 
this  did  no  apparent  good.  And  at  the  time  I  was  so  exasperated 
that  I  kept  the  threat,"  emphasized  Daisy.  "When  bed-thr>e 
came  and  Saunders  had  prepared  Willis  for  the  night,  I  de- 
liberately disrobed,  and  lying  down  beside  him  I  soon  slept  the 
sleep  of  the  just.  It  must  have  been  after  midnight  when  I 
awoke  suddenly  to  find  Willis  sitting  up  in  bed,  his  eyes  bright 
and  his  cheeks  aflame  with  feverish  excitement.  And  my  con- 
science pricked  me  as  I  saw  the  poor  boy  had  had  not  been  able,  so 
far,  to  sleep  a  wink.  Not  one  word  of  reproach  did  he  give  me, 
but  smiled  down  lovingly  into  my  eyes.  I  got  up  at  once  and 
laid  him  down  upon  the  bed  and  after  kissing  his  eyelids  down,  I 
threw  my  white  bournous  over  my  night-robes,  slipped  my  feet 
into  a  pair  of  slippers  and  went  to  the  organ,  where  I  sang  and 
sang  my  best,  I  hope,  trying  to  make  up  to  my  spoiled  child  for 
the  punishment  I  had  made  him  endure.  But  I  cannot  now  un- 
derstand how  thou  couldst  hear  me  in  the  ball  room,  as  I  took 
great  care  before  retiring  to  close  the  doors  both  at  the  foot  and 
at  the  head  of  our  own  stairway." 

"Some  one  must  have  opened  them,  for  the  first  thing  we 
knew,  just  in  the  midst  of  one  of  that  lovely  new  set  of  waltzes, 
the  whole  room  seemed  to  be  flooded  with  music  from  above. 
The  orchestra  stopped  playing  as  if  by  common  consent,  and 
every  one  in  the  room  kept  the  attitude  in  which  it  had  sur- 
prised them,  even  the  dancers  upon  the  floor.  It  was  a  most  won- 
derful scene.  That  ballroom  was1  as  if  suddenly  enchanted.  Not 
a  movement,  or  a  breath  while  that  grand  hymn  went  up.  As 
Grace  said:  'You  never  sang  like  that  before.'  When  the  an- 
them was  finished,  the  spell  lifted  for  a  moment,  but  no  one  cared 
to  resume  the  dance.  They  all  stole  out  into  the  grounds,  and  the 
ball  was  changed  into  a  moonlight  promenade.  When  you  had 
finished  singing,  the  band  played  the  refrain  softly  like  an  echo 
to  the  heavenly  music.  Mammy  may  well  look  upon  this-  ball  as 
the  success  of  the  season,  for  I  will  wager  that  there  was  more 
love-making  and  more  engagements  matrimonial,  entered  into, 
than  at  any  other  society  ball  ever  given.  And  it  is  all  owing 
to  your  own  skilful  management  of  your  husband,  Daisy." 

"The  music  was  a  mystery  to  all,"  said  Caroline,  "Until 


292  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

little  Syd.  Clarendon  — whose  nurse  leaving  without  warning, 
gave  his  mother,  that  pretty  young  widow,  the  alternative  of  re- 
maining at  home  to  take  care  of  her  boy,  whom  she  did  not  wish 
to  leave  with  the  servants  at  the  hotel,  or  of  bringing  htm  with 
her  to  the  ball.  She  chose  the  latter,  for  she  like  myself  loves 
to  make  innovations  upon  staid  society  rules,  and  the  little  fel- 
low is  so  pretty  and  such  a  beautiful  dancer  that  every  one  was 
charmed,  and, ' '  she  grumblingly  added ,  "I  suppose  now 
that  every  fond  mother  present  will  empty  her  nursery  next  time 
and  flood  us  with  their  infant  prodigies.  It  is  a  most  dangerous 
thing  for  any  society  woman  to  establish  a  precedent  of  any  sort. 
Then— well  then,  the  little  Sydney  peeped  as  children  are  apt  to 
do,  and  came  back  saying  that  it  must  be  an  angel  singing.  For 
he  said  he  had  crept  away  up-stairs  and  there  at  the  big  organ, 
playing  in  the  moonlight  he  saw  an  angel  robed  in  white,  and 
declared  he  had  seen  her  wings.  Some  one  suggested  it  might  be 
Mrs.  Willis  St.  Aubyn,  but  the  little  fellow  insisted,  and  Georgia 
Sheldon  comforted  him  by  declaring  it  was  just  the  same,  for 
Mrs.  Willis  St.  Aubyn  is  an  angel.  How  that  girl  idolizes  you, 
Daisy.  And  well  she  may  for  you  have  made  her. ' ' 

"Carlie,  Carlie,"  expostulated  the  laughing  Daisy.  "Thou 
art  endowing  me  with  the  attributes  of  the  Almighty." 

"Well,"  persisted  Caroline,  "perhaps  God  did  make  Georgia 
Sheldon  as  'was'  but  Georgia  Sheldon  as  'is'  is  the  work  of  your 
own  hands,  Daisy,  and  the  girl  appreciates  the  fact,  as  who  would 
not  their  own  change  from  a  caterpillar  to  a  beautiful  butterfly? 
I  never  before  realized  the  power  of  tasteful  dress. ' ' 

"Well,"  said  Daisy,  "I  am  heartily  ashamed  of  myself  for 
breaking  up  the  ball.  I  offer  thee  my  apology,  Mammy.  Per- 
mit me  to  make  what  reparation  I  can.  Tomorrow  is  Willis's 
birthday  and  mine  as  well.  He  is  getting  so  much  better  that 
I  think  he  may  endulge  in  the  mild  dissipation  of  a  family  tea 
party.  So  I  have  made  my  appearance  here  this  morning  for 
the  express  purpose  of  inviting  thee  all.  Thou  must  however 
promise  to  behave  in  a  quiet  and  decorous  manner.  And  I  must 
especially  impress  it  upon  thy  minds  that  thou  must  not  laugh 
at  the  poor  boy  because  he  has  to  be  fed  like  an  infant.  He  is 
extremely  sensitive  upon  the  point,  resenting  his  helplessness  and 
I  fear  it  would  be  most  mortifying  to  him  should  any  notice  or 
comment  upon  the  fact." 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  293 

All  accepted  the  invitation  upon  the  condition  she  imposed. 

"But  I  am  interested  in  knowing  how  your  lesson  worked 
upon  Willis.  I  may  have  to  resort  to  some  such  thing  myself," 
laughed  Caroline.  "I  am  trying  to  gain  all  the  insight  possible 
into  the  secrets  of  managing  a  husband." 

"Like  a  charm.  When  I  finished  my  repertiore  of  anthems 
which  he  loves  so  well,  I  went  back  to  find  Willis  in  a  sound  sweet 
sleep  from  which  he  only  awoke  to  breakfast  with  me,  since  which 
time  he  has  behaved  like  an  angel.  But,"  she  added  with 
the  prettiest  mixture  of  wifely  and  motherly  concern:  "I  must 
find  some  other  means  of  punishing  him  should  he  relapse  into 
his  old  habit  of  annoying  me.  The  dear  boy  must  not  lose  his 
sleep  again.  Tomorrow  at  five.  Ta-ta"— and  Daisy  was  gone. 


294  LA   GRAN   QUmiBA 

CANTO  THE  ELEVENTH. 

"WAL  HALLA  KETTLE  ON." 

Next  afternoon  the  whole  family  took  tea  with  Willis.  Many 
and  warm  were  their  congratulations,  and  many  and  costly  were 
the  birthday  presents  they  brought  to  the  young  couple.  Daisy 
declared  it  was  like  being  married  over  again.  She  had  the 
room  beautifully  decorated  and  the  presents  of  jewelry,  dress  and 
bijouterie  arranged  to  show  to  the  very  best  advantage. 

The  rest  had  nearly  finished  when  the  Governor  and  Her- 
bert made  their  appearance.  It  was  a  very  pretty  sight  to  see 
Daisy  feeding  Willis  as  she  might  a  baby.  Willis  was  propped 
among  his  pillows  upon  which  his  head  writh  its  mass  of  golden 
curls  stood  out  in  relief.  His  face  was  wran  and  white,  and  shone 
with  that  rare  delicacy  of  tint  which  is  seldom  seen  except  in  the 
fair  sex;  while  his  eyes  had  taken  a  strangely  pathetic  wistful- 
ness  of  expression  since  his  illness. 

Daisy  was  perched  upon  the  side  of  the  bed  against  which 
the  table  had  been  placed  and  helped  herself  from  its  abundant 
supply,  feeding  Willis  sometimes  with  a  spoon  and  sometimes 
with  a  tid-bit  taken  from  between  her  own  lips. 

Willis  at  first  cast  many  suspicious  glances  around,  fear- 
ing as  Daisy  had  said,  that  he  was  being  laughed  at.  All  were 
smiling  it  is  true,  but  it  was  with  such  a  pleased  indulgent  smile 
that  his  confidence  in  himself  was  restored,  and  he  sank  back 
upon  his  pillow  in  luxurious  content,  willing  to  be  fed  if  not 
laughed  at.  And  it  was  a  treat  indeed  to  see  Daisy  bite  off  a 
bit  of  luscious  strawberry  putting  only  the  half  between  Willis's 
teeth  while  she  complacently  swallowed  the  lion 's  share. 

Willis  was  very  hungry.  And  the  process  of  ministering  to 
his  wants  was  a  very  long  one,  lengthened  out  as  it  was  by  the 
frequent  disputes  between  Daisy  and  the  doctor  as  to  what  was 
good  for  the  convalescent. 

"Never  fear,  Willis.  Thou  art  now  in  my  hands,  and  I  will 
promise  thee  thou  shalt  not  be  starved  upon  any  doctor's  ad- 
vice. ' ' 

But  when  she  topped  off  by  whisking  an  egg  into  a  glass  of 


A  MUSICAL,  MYSTERY  295 

wine  and  bade  "Willis  drink  it  down,  Dr.  Herman  was  really  an- 
gry. 

"Nonsense,"  said  Daisy.  "He  does  not  require  weak  solu- 
tions and  more  of  them.  No  sick  person  does.  A  little  less,  but 
strong,  is  my  policy  in  feeding  the  sick.  Willis  is  very  weak  and 
needs  strong  food  to  give  him  the  strength  he  lacks.  And  he 
shall  have  it  while  I  am  head  nurse.  Just  see  how  that  wine  has 
braced  him  up.  And  I  defy  thee,  'Mein  Herman'  to  detect  the 
slightest  trace  of  fever." 

Dr.  Van  Valkenburg  looked  grave  and  thoughtful  as  he 
seated  himself  beside  the  invalid  and  counted  his  pulse  while 
Daisy  joined  the  Governor  and  Herbert  at  the  table  to  finish  her 
own  tea. 

After  a  time  the  doctor  turned  to  her  with  a  smile:  "I  am 
fairly  beaten  in  the  argument, ' '  he  said.  ' '  The  lad  is  a  hundred 
per  cent,  stronger,  and  hs  blood  is  not  fevered  in  the  slightest 
degree  by  that  dose  which  would  have  proven  too  strong  for  me. ' ' 

"Of  course,"  was  Daisy's  reply.  "That  is  because  thou  art 
in  perfect  health  and  strength  and  do  not  need  it.  Willis  is  very 
weak  and  does.  Please  consult  me  in  future  in  doubtful  cases, 
Mem  Herman,  and  I  will  tell  thee  that  one  teaspoonful  of  Colo- 
mon's  broth  is  equal  to  a  whole  pharmacy  of  the  Homeopathic 
school:  Yes  Daddy,  if  thou  pleaseth  I  adore  pickled  limes." 

' '  I  think  that  you  take  more  liberties  with  the  English  Lan- 
guage, Daisy,  than  any  person  I  have  ever  known,"  laughed 
Caroline.  "Just  fancy  any  one  'adoring'  pickles  of  any  sort  let 
alone  such  abominations  as  pickled  limes." 

"I  'dote'  upon  them"  was  Daisy's  reply. 

After  tea  they  chatted  quietly  for  an  hour  or  two,  then  the 
family  party  broke  up. 

Grace  and  Del  had  engaged  to  spend  the  evening  with  some 
relatives,  and  Ma'mselle  Fraulien  was  here  to  chaperon  them. 

"Willis,"  said  Lillian  approaching  his  bedside  while  Daisy 
was  yet  at  the  table,  "Willis,  do  you  know  that  yours  is  the  most 
beautiful  male  face  I  have  ever  seen?  You  look  like  one  of  the 
great  arch  angels  brought  low.  I  would  like  to  sketch  your  face 
if  you  will  permit  me  to  do  so  and  will  not  be  worried  by  it. 
You  know  I  am  said  to  possess  some  skill  in  portraits,  and  I  want 
to  paint  a  grand  picture  some  day  representing  the  friends  who 
have  passed  before.  I  find  that  in  depicting  them  in  the  en- 
joyment of  all  the  beauties  of  the  world  beyond  the  grave,  I  have 


296  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

no  difficulty  in  etherealizing  any  female  face,  but  when  I  at- 
tempt to  picture  the  same  expression  upon  the  face  of  any  man 
I  know.  I  have  the  sublime  consciousness  of  failure  weighing  upon 
me.  But  there  is  in  your  face  since  your  illness  the  very  expres- 
sion I  want  so  much  but  hitherto  have  failed  to  catch,"  and  Lil- 
lian hastily  sketched  his  features  which  embodied  the  expression 
she  sought. 

Willis  was  much  amused,  and  insisted  upon  seeing  the 
sketch  saying  that  he  wondered  how  he  would  appear  when  trans- 
formed into  an  angel. 

' '  Faugh ! ' '  He  cried  in  disgust,  when  it  was  shown  him. ' '  An- 
gel indeed.  Why  I  look  like  a  brainless  young  lady.  How  came 
they  to  let  my  hair  grow  like  that?  I  will  have  it  cut  tomorrow." 

"No.  Oh,  No.  Daisy  would  be  in  despair.  She  is  so  proud 
of  those  long  golden  curls  of  yours.  I  really  think  it  would 
break  her  heart  if  you  were  shorn  of  them. ' ' 

"I  will  have  them  taken  of  tomorrow,"  he  repeated,  in  high 
dudgeon  that  upon  him  of  all  people  should  have  beea  perse- 
trated  the  unpardonable  trick  of  having  caused  him  to  look  like 
a  girl. 

Lillian  soon  left  the  chamber,  escorted  as  a  matter  of  course 
by  Herbert.  The  two  were  deep  in  the  discussion  as  to  the  fur- 
nishing of  their  own  house.  Lillian  said:  "I  have  determined 
to  leave  it  all  to  Daisy.  I  distrust  myself  and  have  confidence  in 
her  perfect  taste.  Just  think  Herbert,  that  years  ago  she  chose 
all  the  furnishings  of  her  fathers'  house." 

"Daisy  will  have  her  hands  full  if  she  gets  us  settled  for 
housekeeping.  For  I  heard  Caroline  say  she  had  undertaken  the 
same  task  for  her  and  the  doctor. ' ' 

"And  she  will  prove  equal  to  it  all.  I  have  never  known  so 
capable  a  person  as  our  Daisy.  I  understand  now  Herbert  what 
you  meant  in  describing  the  love  you  felt  for  your  brother's 
young  wife,  although  I  was  extremely  jealous  at  the  time  because 
of  your  outspoken  regard  for  her.  I  believe  that  all  who  know 
her,  love  Daisy  beyond  the  love  they  feel  for  even  their  dearest 
ones,  but  it  is  a  love  differing  from  and  yet  better  than  any 
other  love.  When  Daddy  calls  her  'best-beloved'  that  tells  the 
story." 

Caroline  and  Dr.  Herman  Van  Valkenburg  lingered  as  if 
loth  to  depart,  although  they  were  due  at  the  opera,  and  Orville 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  297 

Roumaine  called  to  bid  his  old  schoolmates  farewell  before  start- 
ing for  the  East  Indies  where  he  was  to  rejoin  his  father. 

Daisy  had  never  liked  him,  but  could  not  well  deny  him  the 
privilege  he  asked  of  bidding  Willis  good-bye.  So  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  family  party  in  time  to  share  their  tea.  But  the 
handsome  Orville  made  himself  so  agreeable  and  was*  so  tender 
and  attentive  to  Willis's  wants  that  Daisy's  tender  little  heart 
wras  quite  won  by  his  manner  and  she  urged  him  to  remain  for  the 
evening,  the  birthday  tea  having  served  as  dinner  as  well. 

"Now,"  said  Daisy,  mischievously  to  the  Governor,  "I  feel 
my  powers  returning  to  me.  'Ask  and  it  shall  be  given  unto 
thee.'  Express  the  wish  that  is  first  in  thy  heart  and  lo !"  and 
she  struck  an  attitude. 

"I  was  thinking,"  said  the  Governor  wistfully,  "That  if  I 
had  my  slippers  here  I  would  remain  with  you  two  children  until 
your  bedtime." 

"Behold !"  and  Daisy  produced  not  only  the  wished-for  slip- 
pers but  the  dressing  gown  as  well. 

"I  knew  you  were  a  witch,  my  best-beloved,"  replied  the 
Governor— as  he  made  haste  to  don  the  easy  garments.  "Now 
My— nerva,  what  is  the  wish  of  your  heart?  You  have  only  to 
whisper  it  and  it  will  be  granted  you." 

"I,  too,  would  like  to  spend  the  evening  with  Willis  and 
Daisy  if  I  had  my  work — ." 

' '  Which  ?  The  embroidery  for  the  Fair,  or  the  crochet  work, 
or-." 

"I  think  I  would  prefer  the  knitting  work  for  this  evening." 

Daisy  produced  it  without  even  the  delay  of  waving  her 
magic  wand. 

There  was  a  hearty  laugh  and  grateful  kisses  and  the  three 
seated  themselves  cozily  before  the  open  fire.  And  after  Willis 
had  been  wheeled  near,  that  he  and  Orville  might  join  the  con- 
verstation  at  will,  they  chatted  away  upon  all  manner  of  sub- 
jests,  until  Daisy,  at  a  quarter  to  ten  o'clock,  promptly  turned 
them  out. 

Willis  had  been  dozing  most  of  the  time  and  they  begged 
that  they  might  stay.  But  Daisy  was  obdurate,  declaring  how- 
ever that  they  might  remain  through  one  or  two  of  the  cus- 
tomary night  songs  she  was  wont  to  use  as  a  lullaby  to  her  fret- 
ful charge,  but  added  that  it  would  not  be  well  for  any  one  of 
them  whom  she  found  upon  her  return.  And  true  to  their  pro- 
mise each  stole  out  in  silence. 


2'J8  LA   GRAN    QUIBIRA 

All  were  in  bed  betimes  upon  this  the  second  night  after  the 
ball. 

All  was  still  and  silent,  when  just  as  the  clock  upon  the  great 
stairway  struck  twelve,  a  piercing  shriek  rang  through  the  man- 
sion followed  by  another  and  yet  another. 

There  was  hurrying  and  scurrying,  and  frightened  faces 
everywhere ;  while  the  night  bell  upon  the  upper  floor  rang  peal 
after  peal,  then  broke  as  if  from  its  own  vehemence. 

Who  shall  describe  the  awe  and  terror  with  which  the  ex- 
planation of  the  midnight  alarm  was  received. 

Willis  St.  Aubyn  was  dead. 

He  had  first  cried  out:  "I  hear!  I  hear.  Yes  Lord,  I 
come,"  then  turned  to  Daisy  who  had  sprung  up  from  her  sleep 
at  the  first  sound.  His  eyes  were  bright  with  an  unearthly  light, 
his  cheeks  were  crimson,  he  flung  his  arms  around  his  young 
wife,  saying,  hurriedly:  "I  have  been  called.  My  darling,  I 
must  leave  you.  Good-bye.  Good-bye,"  and  he  was  gone  after 
that  one  farewell  kiss. 

Daisy  was  as  one  in  a  dream.  She  had  sounded  the  alarm. 
But  as  the  terror-stricken  family  made  their  appearance  singly 
or  in  groups,  she  lifted  her  head,  her  eyes  dilated  with  surprise 
and  said  in  a  dull  apathetic  monotone,  which  struck  yet  more 
terror  to  the  souls  of  the  hearers:  "Willis  is  dead.  But  Willis 
is  dead,"  then  fell  to  caressing  again  the  still  cold  form  in  which 
all  her  hopes  of  earthly  happiness  had  been  centered. 

How  differently  grief  affects  our  different  natures.  Daisy 
was  stunned.  But  with  the  shock  of  learning  that  her  favorite 
son  was  dead,  all  the  former  hatred  of  her  son's  young  wife  re- 
turned to  the  elder  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn.  Unreasonable  as  it  ap- 
peared, she  declared  that  Daisy  had  been  the  cause  of  that  sud- 
den death. 

"She  has  poisoned  him.  He  was  well  enough  two  hours 
since."  She  wept  and  wailed  and  between  times  abused  the 
wife  whom  grief  had  well-nigh  paralyzed. 

"You  did  it,"  she  raged.  "You  did  it  and  here  is  the 
proof,"  displaying  an  empty  vial.  "It  was  more  than  half  full 
this  evening,  and  now  the  contents  are  gone.  You  did  it.  You 
poisoned  him." 

"Did  I?"  questioned  Daisy,  dully.  Then  added  after  a  few 
moments'  dreamy  reflection,  "No.  I  do  not  think  it  was  I.  I 
have  not  given  Willis  one  drop  of  medicine  for  three  days.  Yet," 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  299 

she  said  meditatively  as  if  arguing  some  difficult  problem  with 
herself,  "Yet  he  is  dead.     Willis  is  dead." 

Dr.  Herman  interfered,  and  the  angry  yet  grief-stricken 
mother  was  removed  from  the  room. 

Daisy  remained.  It  seemed  too  cruel  to  attempt  to  separate 
her  from  her  beloved  dead.  This  threw  her  into  such  an  agony 
of  grief  and  terror  that  they  desisted.  And  she  remained  through 
the  scene  which  followed,  unmindful  of  all  that  transpired, 
awakening  at  times  as  from  a  trance  only  to  repeat  with  that 
blood-curdling  apathy :  "But  Willis  is  dead.  Willis  is  dead. " 

Yes,  Willis  St.  Aubyn  was  dead. 

Dead  upon  his  eighteenth  birthday  and  Daisy  Zorlange  St. 
Aubyn  was  left  a  widow  at  sixteen. 

The  score,  in  which  they  had  taken  in  duett  the  principal 
parts,  was  ended,  and  to  her  "Heart  of  Gold"  which  had  been 
her  chief  charm  through  her  days  of  childhood,  she  must  now 
add  the  "Cross  of  Ebony"  whose  darkness  was  relieved  only  by 
its  points  of  silver. 

What  was  the  cause?    Who  knows f 

The  two  skilled  physicians,  Dr.  Tran  Valkenburg  and  Dr. 
Winthrop,  examined  the  body  and  held  long  and  grave  consulta- 
tions upon  it,  but  when  questioned  replied  that  it  was  often  the 
case  after  so  protracted  an  illness,  that  the  recuperative  forces 
failed  suddenly  and  without  apparent  reason  just  when  the  hope 
of  recovery  was  highest.  But  it  was  noticed  and  commented 
upon  that  neither  looked  at  those  who  questioned  them  but 
turned  their  heads  aside  as  if  fearful  their  real  opinion  might  be 
written  upon  their  faces. 

Lillian  herself  cut  off  the  golden  curls.  Some  were  left 
about  the  beautiful  face  of  the  boy  who  had  and  did  look  like 
that  angel  whose  wings  he  had  so  soon  borrowed,  upon  which  his 
soul  had  taken  flight.  Besides  these  there  was  one  for  each  of 
those  who  had  loved  him  so,  and  two  for  the  widowed  bride. 

And  the  beautiful  melodies  which  made  up  the  First  and 
Second  Acts  of  Daisy  Zorlange 's  life  died  suddenly  away.  For 
the  harp-strings  had  broken  and  from  those  that  were  left  only 
minor  chords  which  ended  in  painful  discord,  could  now  be 
drawn. 

[END  OF  ACT  n.] 


300  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

ACT  III. 
CANTO  THE  FIRST. 

"A  TRANSFORMATION." 

A  strange  thing  had  happened.  An  estrangement  had 
grown  up  between  Daisy  and  the  St.  Aubyn  Family.  Whether  or 
no  the  oft-repeated  accusations  of  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn,  no  matter 
how  absurd  they  had  at  first  appeared,  had  had  their  effect  none 
could  tell;  but  there  was  an  undeniable  coldness  between  its 
members  and  Daisy. 

After  the  death  of  Willis  St.  Aubyn,  Emil  Zorlange  had 
sickened  and  died  and  Dasy  was  left  alone  in  the  world.  Then 
she  herself  had  been  very  ill.  Had  her  baby  lived,  all  might 
have  come  right  again,  but  this  comfort  also  was  lost  to  her.  And 
of  all  who  had  seemed  to  love  her  so  devotedly,  only  one  re- 
mained true  to  her.  This  was  "Mein  Herman"  as  she  called 
Dr.  Van  Valkenburg.  But  Dr.  Herman  Van  Valkenburg  had 
gone  East  for  a  time  and  Daisy  felt  as  if  entirely  alone  in  the 
worlc1. 

When  Emil  Zorlange  died  it  was  found  that,  like  all 
dreamers  and  poets,  he  had  been  a  very  unpractical  man  of 
business,  and  had  left  his  affairs  in  almost  inextricable  con- 
fusion. When  finally  his  estate  was  settled,  it  was  found  that  to 
Daisy  remained  the  homestead  and  furnishings  without  any- 
thing with  which  to  keep  up  the  establishment. 

Daisy  bore  the  matter  with  the  philosophy  of  ignorance, 
and  said:  "I  am  young  and  strong.  I  can  work.  God 
has  bestowed  upon  me  a  rarely  beautiful  voice.  It  shall  make 
my  fortune." 

This  determination,  to  which  she  firmly  adhered,  was  the 
cause  of  the  first  breach  betwen  her  and  her  husband's  family, 
who  chose  to  think  the  action  disgraceful.  But  Daisy  had  set 
herself  steadily  to  work  to  prepare  herself  for  the  operatic 
stage.  This  was  before  her  own  severe  illness.  When  she 
arose  from  her  sick-bed,  she  found  to  her  dismay  that  she 
had  lost  what  she  called  her  "one  great  gift,"  her  marvelous 
voice.  She  could  sing,  it  is  true,  'and  sometimes  very  well, 
indeed,  but  she  had  lost  the  control  of  her  voice  and  found  that 
it  could  not  be  depended  upon  at  all  times. 


CHURCH    AND    MARKET    PLACE,    BETHLEHEM. 

• — [Courtesy   of   The    Pictorial   American. 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  801 

It  was,  however,  during  her  practice  that  Mrs.  St.  Aubyn, 
the  elder,  claimed  to  have  been  an  involuntary  witness  to  a 
dubious  love-scene  between  Daisy  and  her  music-master.  The 
family  was,  of  course,  greatly  scandalized,  and  Daisy,  when 
questioned,  drew  back  in  haughty  astonishment  and  refused 
utterly  to  deny  the  accusation. 

While  Daisy's  business  affairs  were  being  settled,  the  St. 
Aubyns  went  abroad.  Daisy  was  given  a  cold  invitation  to 
join  the  party,  which  she  as  coldly  refused.  And  when  the 
family  were  gone,  she  removed  at  once  to  her  own  house,  taking 
with  her  but  few  of  the  articles  that  were  really  her  own.  From 
the  house  itself  she  took  only  the  two  portraits  which  Willis 
had  hung  at  the  foot  of  his  bed, — those  which  he  had  had 
painted  of  himself  and  of  her,— her  own  clothing,  and  a  few 
keepsakes  which  Willis  had  prized. 

When  the  St.  Aubyns  had  gone  abroad,  the  Governor  had 
placed  in  the  hand  of  a  notary,  whom  he  trusted,  the  sum  of 
five  thousand  dollars  for  Daisy's  use  during  the  year  of  their 
intended  absence,  to  be  followed  by  more  should  their  absence 
be  protracted  beyond  that  limit  of  time,  and  believing  that  Daisy 
was  safely  housed  in  the  St.  Aubyn  mansion,  no  one  thought 
more  about  the  matter,  except  to  wonder  why  Daisy  did  not 
write  to  them. 

But  Daisy's  pride  had  been  stung  to  the  quick,  and  no 
sooner  had  the  family  started  upon  their  journey  than  she  re- 
moved from  the  safe  shelter  of  the  Governor's  roof. 

Then  came  upon  her  the  losses  of  which  I  have  spoken. 
Daisy,  in  her  lonely  and  heartbroken  state,  wrote  as  soon  as 
she  was  able,  telling  them  of  the  loss  of  her  babe,  who  came 
into  the  world  to  smile  upon  her,  then  went  back  to  the  home  it 
had  left  among  the  angels,  leaving  the  forlorn  young  mother  al- 
most paralyzed  with  grief  at  her  triple  loss  of  husband,  father 
and  child. 

This  letter,  which  she  entrusted  to  the  hands  of  the  notary, 
never  reached  its  destination,  and  Daisy  believed  herself  de- 
serted by  all. 

Daisy  had  refused  the  money  left  her  by  the  Governor, 
saying  that  she  could  not  owe  her  support  to  those  who  had  es- 
tranged themselves  from  her  without  sufficient  cause,  and  it  was 
many  a  long  day  before  the  Governor  and  his  family  knew  the 
utterly  helpless  position  in  which  their  own  injustice  had 


302  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

placed  the  young  girl,  or  that  the  notary  had  pocketed  the  five 
thousand  dollars  left  in  his  care  after  Daisy  had  refused  to 
accept  it. 

As  for  Daisy,  she  was  possessed  of  high  courage.  And 
when  well  once  more  said:  "I  have  lost  my  one  talent,  but 
I  believe  that  I  will  be  able  to  earn  my  own  living  by  teaching. 
I  remember  that  Virginia  always  envied  me  the  knack  I  have  of 
explaining  clearly  and  comprehensively  any  difficult  problem." 

Mrs.  St.  Aubyn,  junior,  cast  up  her  accounts  and  found 
that  she  could  take  a  year's  review  and  study  preparatory  to 
entering  the  field  of  busy  workers  as  a  teacher.  After  long 
search  she  settled  upon  the  National  Normal  School,  at 
Lebanon,  0.,  as  the  one  most  fitted  for  her  purpose. 

Accustomed  always  to  consult  only  her  own  sweet  will  in 
all  things,  she  enrolled  herself  at  once  as  a  pupil  of  this  school, 
and  went  her  way,  leaving  the  notary  to  squander  her  sub- 
stance as  he  might. 

This  sort  of  school  was  a  new  experience  to  her,  and  she 
enjoyed  the  novelty  of  the  situation.  There  was,  at  that  time,  I 
think,  no  other  school  conducted  upon  such  liberal  principles. 

Marguerite  St.  Aubyn  had  written  just  before  she  started, 
to  engage  room  and  board  with  the  family  of  the  principal,  but 
upon  her  arrival  she  found  that  her  letter  had  not  reached  its 
destination,  and  she  was  compelled  to  take  things  as  she  found 
them.  She  first  had  a  long  and  confidential  talk  with  Professor 
Holbrook,  in  which  she  begged  that  he  would  tell  no  one  her 
real  identity  lest  it  make  a  difference  in  her  treatment,  and 
cause  annoyance  to  the  St.  Aubyn  family,  and  he  kept  her 
secret  well. 

She  took  a  plain,  scantily  furnished  room  upon  the  third 
door  of  the  Lyceum.  The  school  was  full,  and  for  the  first 
night  or  two  she  shared  the  room  with  a  young  widow  like  her- 
self, but  an  experienced  teacher,  from  whom  she  obtained  many 
little  items  of  information  that  might  prove  of  value  to  herself 
when  once  she  had  entered  upon  her  chosen  work. 

When  Mrs.  Bell  left,  to  Marguerite's  amusement  and  to 
her  discomfort  as  well,  she  bestowed  every  moveable  article 
in  the  apartment  upon  other  occupants  of  the  building  from 
whom  she  was  parting,  as  mementoes,  leaving  the  room  alto- 
gether barren  of  all  necessities  as  well  as  decoration. 

Mrs.  St.  Aubyn  soon  had  another  roommate,  however,  in  the 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  303 

person  of  a  pupil  teacher,  Miss  Owen,  with  whom,  as  was  her 
habit,  she  fell  desperately  in  love.  The  affection  was  mutual, 
and  an  intimacy  sprang  up  between  the  two  which  made  life 
a  trifle  more  endurable  to  the  bruised  and  bleeding  heart  of  the 
bereaved  young  widow. 

She  called  her  roommate  Sallie,  and  Sallie  declared  that 
her  own  name  was  convertible  into  one  that  suited  her  to  a 
nicety,  and  called  her  Pearl. 

Pearl  St.  Aubyn  was  soon  the  toast  of  the  school,  and  the 
old  scenes  of  love  and  jealousy  repeated  themselves,  except  that 
now  her  bright  intellect  won  the  regard  of  her  teachers.  If 
they  placed  the  orthodox  "Miss"  before  her  name,  she  paid  no 
heed,  or  at  least  made  no  correction.  She  saw  but  little 
through  the  school-day  of  her  roommate,  Sallie,  for  this  was  a 
busy  hive  of  bees.  Pearl  had  enrolled  herself  in  the  teacher's 
department,  while  Sallie  was  completing  the  Classical  Course, 
and  paid  her  way  by  teaching  some  of  the  classes.  So  that 
after  rising  the  two  met  only  at  chapel  exercises  and  in  the 
rhetoric  class,  where  the  one  acted  the  part  of  instructress  and 
the  other  that  of  pupil,  and  then  again  at  the  hour  for  retiring. 
And  in  this  busy  life  of  study,  frolic  and  flirtation,  Pearl  St. 
Aubyn  strove  to  forget  her  past. 


304  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

€ANTO  THE   SECOND. 

"ROSARIO,  THE  SORROWFUL/' 

She  was  Sallie's  idol.  Pearl  St.  Aubyn  systematically  ig- 
nored her  own  past  and  kept  her  attention  fixed  upon  her  un- 
promising future.  She  had  moral  courage  in  plenty;  but  there 
were  times  when  it  seemed  about  to  desert  her. 

One  morning  Saint  Sallie,  as  she  loved  to  call  her,  came 
into  their  joint  room  unexpectedly  to  find  Pearl  in  tears.  When 
questioned,  she  admitted  her  discouragement. 

"My  dear  Pearl,  take  courage.  You  are  so  bright  of  in- 
tellect, so  beautiful  to  look  upon,  and  so  altogether  charming, 
that  success  is  assured  to  you.  You  need  not  look  so  incredu- 
lous, these  last-named  qualities  count  for  as  much,  if  not  for 
more  in  the  struggle  for  success,  as  does  the  first." 

"I  dreamed  last  night  that  I  stood  in  a  beautiful  flower- 
garden  that  was  all  my  own.  I  wandered  about  plucking  the 
different  blossoms  as  I  went,  admiring  them,  then  easting  them 
carelesly  aside.  At  length  I  reached  the  center  of  my  garden 
where  a  magnificent  rose  tree  grew.  It  was  covered  from  root 
to  top  with  creamy  white  roses,  in  bud,  in  blossom  and  full- 
blown. I  plucked  them,  one  after  another,  inhaled  their  per- 
fume, then  cast  them  also  carelessly  aside.  They  fell  at  my 
feet,  which  were  literally  buried  in  the  bed  of  dying  roses  whose 
perfume  seemed  somehow  a  reproach  to  me.  Toward  the  last 
when  but  few  remained  upon  the  rose-tree,  I  grew  more  careful 
and  more  tender.  I  carried  a  great  bunch  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful for  some  time,  but  at  length  they  wearied  me  with  their 
very  fragrance,  and  I  cast  them  away,  as  I  had  done  the  others. 
At  length  but  few  were  left  upon  the  tree,  nearly  despoiled  by 
my  own  ruthless  hand.  These  I  gathered,  one  by  one,  having 
somehow  learned  to  prize  them  at  their  worth,  and  missing 
the  subtle  perfume,  of  which  I  had  thought  myself  weary; 
but  behold,  each,  as  I  gathered  it  and  pressed  it  to  my  lips,  fell 
to  pieces,  strewing  the  grass  at  my  feet  with  their  snowy  petals. 
And  now  but  one  rose,  the  most  beautiful,  the  most  perfect  of 
them  all,  remained  upon  the  tree.  I  watched  it  expand  from  a 
tiny  green-encrusted  bud,  into  a  sweet  half-blown  blossom,  then 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  305 

into  full  bloom,— the  most  beautiful,  the  most  perfect  of  all  the 
roses  that  had  sprung  from  that  wonderful  tree.  I  longed 
to  possess  it,  but  feared  to  pluck  it  from  the  stem,  lest  in 
possessing  myself  of  it,  I  should  lose  it  as  I  had  the  others. 

I  waited  for  a  long  time,  reaching  out  my  hand,  then 
withdrawing  it  in  sudden  fear.  Finally  I  plucked  up  courage 
and  drawing  down  the  branches  of  the  great  rose-tree,  I  care- 
fully broke  the  rose  which  crested  its  very  top  from  its  slender 
stem,  and  took  it  tenderly  to  my  heart,  only  to  have  it  fall  leaf 
by  leaf  at  my  feet,  as  had  all  the  rest.  Oh,  Sallie,  dear,  my 
dream  is  but  the  symbol  of  my  life.  I  had  all  the  good  gifts 
of  life  offered  to  me  during  my  careless  youth,  when  I  did  not 
understand  their  real  worth,  and  took  no  pains  to  garner  these 
sweets.  Even  the  withered  and  fallen  leaves  would,  if  pre- 
served, have  given  their  perfumed  fragrance  to  me  for  a  long, 
long  time,  but  I  fear  now  that  they  have  begun  to  fall ;  that 
all  after  which  I  now  reach  will  wither  and  fall  to  pieces  be- 
neath my  touch.  The  dream  is,  I  say,  typical  of  my  own  life, 
and  saddens  and  discourages  me." 

Saint  Sallie  comforted  her  as  best  she  could,  but  the  story 
of  the  dream  and  of  Pearl  St.  Aubyn's  own  foreboding  inter- 
pretation of  it,  was  the  theme  of  many  a  conversation. 

All  ridiculed  her  somber  forebodings,  and  encouraged  her. 
Failure  or  defeat  in  the  battle  of  life  was  quite  imposible,  they 
said,  to  one  so  fair  and  so  bright.  So  they  founded  the  "Rose- 
Tree  Club,"  in  her  honor,  whose  aim  was  to  offer  sweet  encour- 
agement to  the  faltering.  It  was,  in  fact,  a  new  and  very  se- 
lect literary  society,  whose  essays  and  poems  were  weeded  and 
deprived  of  all  their  thorns  before  a  copy  of  each  was  pre- 
sented to  Pearl  herself. 

A  beautiful  pearly  tea-rose  was  placed  upon  the  center-table 
at  each  of  their  meetings,  and  one  of  the  pledges  taken  by  the 
members  of  the  Tea-Rose  Club  was  that  each  should  plant  a 
white  rose,  wherever  they  were  after  leaving  the  school  in  mem- 
ory of  Pearl  St.  Aubyn  and  the  folly  of  dreams  especially  those 
of  ill  omen. 

This  life  at  the  National  Normal  School  was  too  busy  a  one 
to  admit  of  much  retrospect.  There  was  the  continual  round  of 
study  and  recitation  from  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  until  nine 
or  ten  at  night.  Monday  forenoon  was  the  only  break  in  the 
routine,  that  being  a  half  holiday. 

20 


306  LA  GRAN  QUIBIBA 

But  even  here  unwelcome  changes  came.  Miss  Owen,  whom 
Pearl  insisted  upon  calling  Sallie,  or  Saint  Sallie  as  the  whim 
seized  upon  her,  was  promoted  to  other  classes  and  resolved  to 
share  her  rooms  with  none. 

Pearl  who  had  left  at  the  end  of  the  school  year  thinking 
that  she  would  not  again  return,  one  short  term  having  satisfied 
her  that  her  chosen  life-work  was  not  to  her  taste,  had  at  the 
eleventh  hour  unexpectedly  appeared  to  find  all  of  the  best 
rooms  taken  and  she  was  compelled  to  quarter  herself  in  two 
down-town  apartments  outside  of  the  rooms  under  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  Professor  Holbrook.  She  found,  indeed,  much  better 
rooms  and  Sallie  begged  her  to  take  another  room  mate  in  the 
person  of  Elsie  Ferris  who  learned  to  simply  bow  down  and 
worship  her  beautiful  mate. 

This  was  the  third  Act  in  Margurite  Zorlange  St.  Aubyn's 
life  drama  and  would  have  been  but  an  *  episode'  but  that  it 
ended  in  her  marrying  for  the  second  time. 

How  it  happened  she  herself  could  scarcely  tell.  She  had 
passed  a  most  successful  examination  before  the  County  School 
Board  and  had  been  engaged  as  teacher  to  a  school  near  Dayton, 
but  she  had  been  over-persuaded  and  consented  to  marry  a 
most  persistent  suitor,  Laurence  Jerome,  one  who  was  more  than 
twice  her  own  age  and  with  whom  one  might  say  she  was  scarce'y 
aquainted.  But  it  so  happened  that  none  who  could  advise  or 
influence  her  was  there  at  the  moment.  Miss  Owen  and  John 
Sea  were  away  attending  the  wedding  of  another  friend  and 
schoolmate  in  Kentucky,  and  Wilson  I,— who  was  steward  of 
the  club  and  with  whom  Pearl  had  grown  very  intimate,  loving 
and  respecting  him  and  treating  him  "just  as  she  would  another 
girl,"  as  she  declared,  had  left  the  school.  So  that  the  upshot 
of  the  whole  matter  was  that  one  morning  accompanied  only  by 
Elsie  Ferris  and  Laurence  Jerome,  she  made  her  way  to  a  popu- 
lar church,  on  Cherry  street,  and  Daisy  Zorlange  and  Pearl  St. 
Aubyn  were  forever  merged  into  "Marguerite  Jerome." 

But  alas,  and  yet  alas !  In  less  than  an  hour  after  her  second 
marriage  Marguerite  knew  that  she  had  made  a  terrible  mistake, 
and  as  time  sped  on  the  conviction  deepened  upon  her  and  she 
felt  that  she  had  bound  herself  for  life  to  a  man  whom  she  could 
neither  love  nor  respect. 

And  as  the  curtain  fell  upon  this  the  third  act  of  her  life 
opera  the  music  of  the  orchestra  closed  in  one  discordant  crash. 
[END  OF  ACT  in.] 


VIEW    IN    KEANE'S   CANYON,    ARIZONA. 

—  [Courtesy    of    The    Pictorial    American. 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  307 


ACT  IV. 

CANTO  THE  FIRST. 
"WHEN  THE  SWALLOWS  HOMEWARD  PLY." 

The  St.  Aubyn  family  had  returned  to  Paris  from  a  pro- 
longed tour  through  Egypt  and  North  Africa.  The  Governor  had 
insisted  upon  total  isolation  from  all  business  matters,  and  their 
mail  had  collected  in  Paris,  few  letters  having  been  sent  after 
them  upon  their  travels.  The  accumulation  of  mail  matter  that 
awaited  all  upon  their  return  to  that  place  was  something  formid- 
able. Yet  amongst  it  all  there  was  no  letter  from  the  absent 
Daisy.  Many  and  anxious  were  the  inquiries  put  to  one  another, 
and  it  ended  in  a  family  consultation  upon  the  first  evening  of 
their  arrival  in  Paris,  which  had  been  chosen  as  the  rendezvous 
for  the  party,  and  the  probable  place  of  their  residence  for  the 
winter.  Here  they  had  been  met  by  Dr.  Van  Valkenburg  who 
had  been  to  visit  his  mother  and  sister  and  brother  in  northern 
Germany ;  and  by  Lillian  Cavendish  and  her  aunt,  who  had  been 
at  some  one  or  other  of  the  German  baths  since  the  whole  party 
had  left  America. 

Here  the  double  wedding,  which  had  been  so  long  delayed, 
was  to  be  solemnized  in  a  very  quiet  manner.  Herbert  had  been 
appointed  a  member  of  the  American  Embassy  at  the  Court  of 
St.  James,  and  Dr.  Herman  Van  Valkenburg  had  determined  to 
return  to  Germany  for  a  time  at  least. 

Here  it  was  then  that  all  began  to  think  of  Willis's  young 
wife,  who  had  come  upon  them  like  a  sudden  gleam  of  bright  sun- 
shine, making  the  dark  places  in  their  lives  clear  and  bright,  and 
they  began  to  realize  that  the  presence  of  Daisy  among  them  was 
essential  to  the  happiness  of  all. 

Caroline,  Lillian,  Herbert  and  the  doctor  each  confessed  that 
they  had  written  more  than  once  without  receiving  any  reply 
from  Daisy,  who,  they  acknowledged,  had  every  reason  to  be  of- 
fended at  their  conduct  after  the  death  of  Willis.  But  each  had 
supposed  some  one  of  the  other  members  of  the  family  had 
been  more  fortunate.  Great  then  was  the  consternation  of  all 
upon  their  arrival  in  Paris  to  find  their  own  letters  to  her  re- 
turned but  not  one  word  from  Daisy. 


308  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

"Oh!  my  best-beloved,"  mourned  the  Governor.  "I  feel 
that  I  have  been  most  unjust  to  thee.  How  could  this  terrible 
estrangement  have  come  about  ?  And  even  so,  how  came  I  to  be 
so  remiss  in  my  care  of  this  young  and  orphaned  bride?  Had 
she  been  a  total  stranger  I  must  have  reproached  myself  most  bit- 
terly for  my  unpardonable  negligence,  but  my  best-beloved,  my 
own  little  daughter  who  brought  only  good  to  me  and  mine,  I 
surely  cannot  hope  for  forgiveness  in  this." 

"Mammy"  said  Caroline  sharply,  "this  is  your  doing.  I 
feel  positive  that  you  have  borne  false  witness  against  our  good 
angel  in  this  matter." 

"I— I— well,  perhaps  I  may  have  exaggerated  a  little  about 
that  scene  in  Daisy's  apartments.  It  was  in  her  boudoir  and 
not  in  her  chamber  that  it  occurred.  And  I  have  just  been  think- 
ing that  as  it  was  the  master  who  had  her  in  training  for  the 
operatic  stage,  they  might  have  merely  been  rehearsing  some  love 
scene."  And  the  good  lady  whimpered  and  added  a  little  spite- 
fully: "But  she  poisoned  Willis.  I  know  she  did.  You  know 
yourself  Herman  that  he  was  poisoned,"  and  the  doctor  looked 
grave  but  answered  never  a  word. 

"Oh,  Mammy,  Mammy,"  groaned  Caroline.  "And  you  have 
two  young  daughters  of  your  own.  How  can  you  be  so  brutal  1 ' ' 

The  Governor's  health  had  been  so  much  impaired  that  a 
trip  across  the  ocean  was  not  to  be  thought  of  for  him,  although 
he  insisted  that  it  was  his  duty  to  look  up  this  matter  in  person. 
For  it  was  planly  to  be  seen  that  whatever  had  become  of  Daisy 
she  had  left  the  safe  shelter  of  the  St.  Aubyn  roof. 

Herbert  was  due  in  London  at  an  early  date;  while  Herman 
had  just  received  advices  from  Germany  that  demanded  his  al- 
most immediate  return  thither.  So  the  double  wedding  was  cele- 
brated privately  and  without  the  wished-for  presence  of  Daisy. 
And  they  were  obliged  to  content  themselves  with  sending  a 
stranger  to  inquire  into  the  matter.  Now  for  the  first  time  they 
learned  that  Daisy  had  left  the  shelter  provided  for  her,  as  soon 
as  they  had  gone,  and  she,  refusing  utterly  to  accept  the  money 
left  for  her  support,  this  had  been  appropriated  by  the  notary. 
All  trace  of  the  missing  one  seemed  for  a  time  to  be  lost,  and 
when  after  months  of  weary  waiting  she  was  found,  it  was  only 
to  be  lost  again  and  forever.  For  Daisy  had  in  the  meantime 
committed  social  suicide, .  and  by  marrying  for  the  second  time 
had  cut  herself  off  from  the  St.  Aubyn  family,  who  mourned  for 
her  as  for  one  dead. 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  309 

CANTO  THE  SECOND. 

" MAKING   THE   BEST   OF    THINGS/' 

But  Daisy  had  turned  her  back  upon  her  former  life  and 
never  permitted  even  her  thoughts  to  dwell  upon  it.  Daisy  Zor- 
lange  and  after  a  time  even  Pearl  St.  Aubyn  were  as  if  they  had 
never  existed.  Both  were  merged  into  Marguerite  Jerome.  And 
Marguerite  Jerome  had  that  knack  of  making  the  best  of  things, 
whose  possessor  if  not  altogether  happy,  is  yet  incapable  of  real 
unhappiness. 

Her  husband  idolized  her.  And  this  fact  and  the  conscious- 
ness that  she  held  the  good  or  ill  of  this  one  human  being  in  her 
keeping  held  her  to  her  duty  amid  the  temptations  that  assailed 
her.  Her  married  life  presented  such  a  kaleidescopic  series  of 
ups  and  downs,  as  to  baffle  correct  description. 

From  time  to  time,  they  moved  from  city  to  city,  as  the 
freak  took  possession  of  Laurence  Jerome.  And  as  they  always 
boarded  instead  of  keeping  house  these  Sittings  mattered  but 
little  to  either.  But  when  it  was  too  late  they  both  realized  the 
mistake  they  had  made;  for  one  forms  only  aquaintances  and 
can  never  hope  to  make  true  friends  in  this  constant  change  of 
residence. 

They  found  themselves  at  length  en  route  from  Chicago 
where  they  had  lived  for  two  or  three  years,  to  New  York  City, 
Laurence  Jerome  having  upon  hand  the  furtherance  of  a  new 
railway  scheme,  whose  object  was  to  connect  the  northern  rail- 
ways with  the  Gulf  traffic.  The  route  passed  from  Denver,  along 
the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande,  through  Espanola  to  Galveston, 
Texas. 

Of  this  new  railroad,  Laurence  Jerome  was  in  its  conception 
and  infancy,  both  president  and  general  manager.  Everything 
seemed  propitious.  The  charter  was  procured.  The  preliminary 
survey  was  made,  and  the  scheme  met  with  much  favor  and  re- 
ceived many  concessions  from  the  residents  along  the  proposed 
route,  especially  from  the  native  Mexican  Land  Owners,  many  of 
whose  donations,  and  privileges  of  right-of-way  were  signed  by 


310  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

three  and  even  four  generations,  of  the  living  heirs  and  assigns, 
of  the  same  family  and  name. 

All  was,  as  I  have  said,  favorable  to  the  enterprise.  Arrived 
in  New  York,  the  bonds  were  issued  and  Laurence  Jerome  was 
about  to  sail  for  Europe  having  already  contracted  for  their 
placing  upon  the  London  market,  and  that  of  Ansterdam. 

Of  course,  his  young  wife  had  to  accompany  him,  for  like 
all  elderly  men  who  marry  young  and  lovely  wives,  she  was 
scarcely  permitted  to  leave  his  sight,  and  Marguerite  besides  was 
much  pleased  with  the  prospect  of  a  trip  to  Europe,  she  never 
having  visited  any  country  outside  of  her  native  America. 

Business  was  at  its  best.  Then  the  constant  demand  for 
"change"  at  any  price,  which  is  the  one  great  feature  of  Ameri- 
can politics,  gave  this  confidence  a  little  jog.  And  upon  the 
heels  of  this  came  the  notorious  and  somewhat  scandalous  failure 
of  Ferdinand  Ward,  in  which  General  Grant  was  implicated. 
This  was  followed  by  the  failure  of  the  Marine  Bank  and  the 
great  financial  crash.  Where  thousands  were  swamped  and 
ruined  by  these  failures,  what  wonder  that  the  lack  of  confidence 
they  inspired  in  foreign  capitalists,  sunk  this  incipient  railway 
as  it  did  many  another  legitimate  schemes  and  Laurence  Jerome 
lost  all  that  he  possessed? 

Then  followed  a  series  of  disasters  which  deprived  them  of 
almost  every  penny  they  possessed  in  the  world.  But  he  was  a 
true  American.  He  had  been  educated  as  a  lawyer  and  in  his 
younger  days  had  practised  in  his  native  State,  New  York,  with 
some  success.  But  having  a  taste  for  mechanics  he  had  left  the 
profession  and  becoming  a  practical  stair  builder  had  accumu- 
lated the  small  fortune  which  had  now  been  sunk  in  this  abortive 
railway  scheme. 

"Needs  must."  And  he  began  again,  as  it  were,  working 
when  work  presented  itself,  which  was  not  often,  for  every  line 
of  business  had  been  paralyzed  by  the  panic.  By  dint  of  long 
and  patient  effort  he  had  hoarded  a  few  hundreds,  and  they  de- 
cided to  journey  to  the  southwest,  and  build  anew  the  structure 
of  their  fortunes. 

Laurence  Jerome  had  been  with  the  party  who  had  surveyed 
the  route  for  the  proposed  railway  in  which  he  had  sunk  all  his 
fortune,  and  had  while  in  New  Mexico  gathered  many  points  of 
unwritten  history  and  traditions  of  the  country  from  the  natives 
with  whom  he  was  a  favorite. 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  3 1 1 

Those  which  possessed  the  greatest  fascination  both  for  him 
and  for  Marguerite,  related  to  what  she  termed  "the  missing 
link"  in  the  history  of  the  country,  which  seemed  to  have  been 
lost  or  suppressed  by  the  Spaniards  at  the  time  of  their  conquest 
of  Mexico. 

The  story  which  most  interested  Marguerite  was  that  of  the 
"Metal  Workers  of  the  Seven  Cities  of  The  Cibola;  the  story  of 
La  Gran  Quibira. ' '  She  began  at  once  to  study  all  of  the  meager 
history  left  to  us  of  this  mysterious  place. 

The  subterranean  ruins  of  a  buried  city  called  by  this  name 
was  what  gave  the  greatest  scope  to  her  fancy,  and  the  two  de- 
termined that  this  was  the  place  of  all  others  they  were  most 
anxious  to  visit,  and  which  might  prove  to  be  the  means  of  speed- 
ily retrieving  their  fallen  fortunes. 

Their  journey  was  without  a  break  from  New  York  to  Al- 
buquerque, New  Mexico.  Here,  however,  they  were  delayed  for 
more  than  a  month.  Their  route  across  country  from  this  point 
was  unknown  to  most,  and  what  to  them  at  the  time  was  most  in- 
comprehensible, was  the  fact  which  from  the  first  was  most  ap- 
parent—that, among  those  who  had  ever  heard  of  this  place  at 
all,  there  was  a  reluctance  to  tell  to  strangers  what  they  knew 
about  it. 

Lawrence  finally  engaged  a  livery  outfit  and  ' '  Ho !  For  La 
Gran  Quibira." 

The  owner  had  warranted  the  team  to  accomplish  forty 
miles  a  day  with  a  heavy  load. 

Ten  days  out  they  believed  would  gratify  their  desire  for 
explorations  among  the  ruins,  which  they  now  learned  were  those 
of  a  great  church  and  monastery  which  reared  themselves  above 
ground  upon  the  crest  of  a  hill,  and  which  for  centuries  had  been 
the  Treasure  Trove  of  the  fortune  seeker. 

The  tradition  and  imperfect  history  of  the  place  was  new  to 
the  Jeromes.  The  careful  study  of  all  the  scanty  items  which 
came  within  their  reach  resolved  itself  into  the  fact  that  after 
many  vain  attempts  by  large  bodies  of  soldiers  to  discover  the 
whereabouts  of  "La  Gran  Quibira,"  (the  central  city  of  The 
Seven  Cities  of  The  Cibola,  in  whch  it  was  said  the  wealth,  laid 
up  by  the  Aztec  nation  for  many  ages,  was  stored  away  against 
the  need  as  the  ransom  of  that  nation  from  their  enslavement  by 
the  whites,— that  enslavement  which  had  been  foreseen  more  than 


312  LA   GRAN   QUIBIBA 

two  thousand  years  before  by  the  great  Chaltsantzin,  their  Pro- 
phet and  King)  where  the  army  had  failed,  the  church  succeeded, 
the  wily  priests  winning  the  confidence  of  the  people  by  their  un- 
deniable charity  both  in  words  and  works.  For  when  was  the 
story  of  the  Redeemer  ever  told  to  altogether  deaf  ears? 

These  Holy  Fathers  found  the  well-guarded  Valley  of  Azt- 
lan;  where  in  time  they  remodeled  the  palace  of  the  Aztecs,  con- 
verting it  into  a  great  monastery  and  deplaced  the  modest  chapel 
by  a  church  as  vast  as  most  cathedrals  of  the  present  day. 

That  community  of  Franciscan  Friars,  who  thus  won  the 
confidence  of  these  Indians,  dwelt  here  for  many  years  and  grew 
by  some  mysterious  means,  rich  beyond  conception.  They  kept 
their  secret  well  and  few  outside  their  own  community  guessed 
the  truth,  that  this  brotherhood  had  found  and  held  the  much 
sought  for  treasure  of  the  Aztec  nation,  they  feared  that  should 
they  disclose  the  secret,  the  Spanish  King  through  his  Mexican 
army  would  wrest  it  from  them  or  demand  the  lion 's  share  of  the 
spoils. 

The  story  comes  down  to  us,  but  in  meager  fragments,  that 
the  friars  were  expelled  when  the  other  Spanish  priests  were 
driven  from  the  country  at  the  time  of  the  great  Indian  insur- 
rection of  A.  B.  1680,  is  certain,  and  it  is  equally  certain  that 
but  two  of  the  entire  number  of  seventy  friars  made  their  escape, 
and  in  time  returned  to  Spain  to  that  community  of  which  they 
were  a  branch. 

These  two  friars  told  such  wonderful  stories  of  what  they 
had  found  and  possessed  themselves  of,  that  they  were  believed 
to  be  mad  and  were  dealt  with  accordingly.  But  many  years 
later  when  the  second  of  the  two  friars  died  (the  two  had  not 
held  communication  with  one  another  for  all  these  years)  and 
there  were  discovered  in  his  cell  descriptions,  maps  and  charts 
which  corresponded  exactly  with  those  found  in  the  cell  of  the 
first,  already  deceased,  the  heads  of  the  Community  began  to 
think  that  there  might  be  some  foundation  to  the  stories  of  the 
marvelous  riches  they  claimed  they  had  been  compelled  to  store 
away  in  a  secret  hiding  place,  when  the  entire  community  had 
been  massacred  or  forced  to  flee  for  their  lives. 

Many  expeditions  were  sent  by  the  Catholic  Church,  both 
from  Spain  and  from  what  is  now  known  as  Old  Mexico.  But 
the  whole  face  of  the  country  seemed  to  have  been  so  changed  by 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  313 

the  ravages  of  the  war  which  continued  for  thirteen  years,  as  to 
completely  baffle  every  effort  to  locate  with  precision  the  site  even 
of  La  Gran  Quibira. 

And  it  has  only  been  within  the  past  fifty  years  that  the  par- 
ticular spot  which  is  now  universally  conceded  to  have  been  the 
Valley  of  Aztlan,  wherein  was  located  that  ancient  confedera- 
tion of  cities  called  the  "Seven  Cities  Of  The  Cibola,"  whose 
capital  city  was  known  as  "La  Gran  Quibira,"  was  discovered  by 
Lewis  and  Clarke. 

Its  isolated  situation  explains  why  it  was  an  impossibility 
for  any  large  body  of  men  to  make  their  way  thither  without  the 
guidance  of  some  of  the  friendly  Indians.  And  the  reason  that 
this  guidance  was  never  offered  to  them  was  that  this  was  their 
sacred  City  of  Culhaucan  as  well. 

After  this  discovery,  after  the  valley  became  the  property  of 
the  United  States  of  America,  many  other  missions  were  sent  by 
the  church  which  placed  a  "ban"  upon  the  place  as  a  protection 
against  the  depredations  of  the  curious  and  the  avaricious.  This 
interdict  was  still  in  force  when  our  two  adventurers  started  to 
visit  the  place. 


314  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

CANTO  THE  THIRD. 

"THE  COMANCHE'S  REVENGE." 

It  was  in  the  middle  of  October  when  the  Jeromes  set  forth 
with  a  mere  camp  outfit.  The  much- vaunted  team  (which  could 
travel  forty  miles  a  day  with  twice  their  load)  refused  to  make 
even  ten  miles  unless  allowed  the  entire  day  in  which  to  ac- 
complish it.  The  second  day  therefore  found  them  less  than 
thirty  miles  from  their  starting  point,  this  after  travelling  so  late 
upon  the  previous  day  that  they  were  compelled  to  sit  up  all 
night  in  the  wagon,  it  being  too  dark  to  prepare  supper. 

Following  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Rio  Grande  down  the 
Mesa,  they  had  crossed  innumerable  roads  leading  into  the  San- 
dia  Mountains. 

Upon  inquiry  each  of  these  was  declared  to  be  the  road  to 
Hell  Canyon. 

"It  would  seem  that  it  is  impossible  to  get  beyond  these 
mountains  except  by  the  way  of  Hades ; ' '  said  Marguerite,  laugh- 
ing. "Suppose  that  we  inaugurate  a  new  departure  and  vamos 
around  them. ' ' 

All  was  so  new  and  interesting  an  experience  to  one  who  had 
passed  her  whole  life  in  cities  that  even  its  discomfort  was  a  de- 
light to  her. 

Having  taken  the  "river  road"  they  passed  through  the  An- 
cient Mexican  Village  of  Thome,  which  had  once  been  the  scene 
of  a  wholesale  massacre.  It  is  close  to  the  Rio  Grande,  directly 
opposite  to  Comanche  Canyon,  a  narrow  cut  through  these  moun- 
tains which  is  not  accessible  by  wagon. 

The  story  goes  that  in  the  olden  days,  many  years  after  The 
Conquest  however,  a  trader  dwelt  in  Thome,  which  even  at  that 
early  date  was  a  considerable  town,  as  towns  went.  This  trader, 
whose  name  was  I  think  Garcia,  had  a  very  bright  and  attractive 
little  daughter,  who  was  a  great  favorite  with  the  Comanche 
chief,  with  whom  the  trader  professed  great  friendship,  and  it 
was  agreed  between  the  two  that  when  the  little  girl  should  be  of 
marriageable  age,  she  should  wed  the  son  of  the  Comanche  chief, 
whose  home  was  beyond  the  Sandias,  in  the  territory  wherein 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  315 

now  is  Manzano,  Cyenega,  Punta-Del-Agua,  Quarra,  and 
Abo,  and  which  could  best  be  reached  by  a  short  cut  through  the 
Comanche  Canyon.  This  union  of  the  races  would  be,  it  was 
thought,  for  the  benefit  of  all. 

Time  passed  on.  The  child  developed  into  a  maiden  of  twelve 
or  thereabouts.  The  Comanche  chief,  who  had  made  the  trader 
and  the  trader's  younger  daughter  many  valuable  presents,  be- 
came urgent  in  his  requests  for  the  beautiful  maiden  who  was  to 
become  the  bride  of  his  son.  But  the  crafty  Garcia,  who  had 
either  never  been  in  earnest  or  had  reconsidered  his  promise  to 
the  chief,  delayed  the  nuptials  upon  some  pretense  or  another. 
The  girl  had  in  the  meantime  been  sent  to  school  at  Santa  Fe, 
and  as  the  chief  became  more  and  more  pressing  in  his  demands 
for  the  fulfillment  of  the  promise,  he  declared  at  length  that 
his  daughter  had  died  of  small-pox  at  the  latter  place. 

The  old  Comanche  chief  mourned  for  her  as  if  she  had  in- 
deed been  his  own  daughter.  But  later  his  suspicions  were  some- 
how awakened,  and  without  presenting  himself  at  the  Thome 
Trader's,  he  yet  maintained  a  strict  watch  upon  his  every  move- 
ment. 

The  deception  of  the  Comanche  chief  complete,  Garcia 
brought  his  daughter  home,  that  he  might  wed  her  to  one  of  his 
own  race;  a  Spanish  grandee,  who  had  sought  her  hand  in  mar- 
riage. A  coldness  had  sprung  up  between  the  trader  and  his 
old-time  friend,  the  Comanche  chief,  who  had  forbidden  his  peo- 
ple to  go  again  to  Thome,  yet  upon  the  surface  friendly  relations 
were  still  maintained  between  the  Indians  and  the  whites. 

It  was  upon  a  Monday  morning  that  the  entire  population  of 
Thome  assembled  at  the  church  to  witness  the  marriage  ceremony 
which  made  the  beautiful  daughter  of  the  trader,  the  wife  of  one 
of  her  own  people. 

The  "parochia"  was  filled  to  overflowing  with  the  wedding 
guests.  The  times  were  seemingly  peaceful,  and  great  was  the 
hiliarity  over  the  neat  manner  in  which  the  Comanche  chief  had 
been  hood-winked  and  cheated  out  of  his  son's  bride  by  the  cun- 
ning Garcia,  who  in  the  belief  that  time  had  so  changed  the  ap- 
pearance of  his  little  daughter  that  the  chief  and  his  son  would 
not  recognize  her  as  other  than  another  daughter,  even  had  the 
audacity  to  invite  them  to  the  nuptials.  They  had  not  however 


316  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

as  yet  made  their  appearance  at  the  festivities.  ' '  If  coming,  they 
are  very  late,"  quoth  the  facetious  trader. 

They  came;  but  not  just  yet. 

The  whole  community,  as  I  have  said,  were  assembled  at  the 
"parochia. "  All  were  unarmed  as  was  the  custom  of  that  day,  for 
except  in  times  of  imminent  danger  no  man  carried  arms  to  the 
sacred  edifice.  The  priest  had  but  well  begun  the  marriage  ser- 
vice when  the  tardy  guests  arrived,  accompanied  by  their  entire 
tribe.  They  came  down  quietly  through  the  Canyon  to  which  the 
deed  of  this  day  gave  name,  and  crept  stealthily  across  the  in- 
tervening mesa,  surrounding  the  church,  unseen  by  the  careless 
guards.  The  first  intimation  of  their  presence  there,  was  that 
terrible  war-whoop  with  which  they  fell  upon  the  occupants  of 
the  church.  The  slaughter  was  complete.  But  few  escaped  to  tell 
the  story  of  the  massacre,  and  that  of  the  carrying  off  of  the 
bride  and  some  other  of  the  maidens  of  hapless  Thome.  These 
were  never  heard  of  more,  although  many  were  the  romantic 
stories  handed  down  among  the  Indians  of  the  beauty  and  good- 
ness of  the  white  squaw  of  the  young  Comanche  chief. 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTEEY  317 

CANTO  THE  FOURTH. 

"LE  GATO." 

They  (the  Jeromes),  breakfasted  at  a  rancho  Mexicano. 
Their  host  arose  suddenly  in  the  very  midst  of  the  meal,  and  as- 
suming a  most  dignified  air,  he  introduced  himself  to  his  un- 
expected guests  as  "Antonio  Jose  Arragon,"  and  intimated  that 
he  would  like  to  know  the  strangers  by  name.  So  Laurence,  imi- 
tating him  to  a  nicety,  arose  also  and  introduced  himself  and  his 
wife.  But  when  he  said  that  they  hailed  from  New  York,  Ar- 
ragon corrected  him  sharply  and  declared  solemnly  that  it  was 
"Ny  York." 

It  was  not  difficult  to  understand  even  without  any  knowl- 
edge of  the  Spanish  language,  by  the  manner  in  which  he 
bewailed  the  fact,  and  by  signs  declared  there  was  too  much 
difference  in  age  between  Marguerite  and  her  grey-haired  hus- 
band, the  Senor  Mexicano  had  fallen  in  love  and  was  anxi- 
ous to  establish  the  fact  that  she  was  of  a  reputable  family  be- 
fore asking  her  hand  from  him  whom  he  fondly  believed  to  be 
Marguerite's  father. 

With  Arragon  for  a  guide,  they  made  their  way  to  his  next 
neighbor's  ranch.  This  was  "Los  Aguellos,"  owned  by  Kirk- 
patrick,  and  here  it  was  that  Marguerite  made  her  first  aqiiaint- 
ance  with  that  class  around  which  so  many  romatic  notions  cen- 
ter, yclept  cowboys  in  the  persons  of  two  Texas  cattlemen  who 
were  herding  their  cattle  there  en  route  to  Arizona. 

From  Los  Angeles  they  passed  down  the  mesa  to  a  Mexican 
ranch  at  the  Limestone  Spring.  And  here  the  unfitness  of  their 
hired  team  compelled  them  to  camp  for  the  night  amid  the  filth 
and  squalor  of  a  Mexican  corral.  In  the  center  of  this  corral 
stood  a  small  adobe  house  in  which  were  quartered  for  the  right 
ful]y  a  dozen  people,  who  seemed  greatly  surprised  that  Mr. 
Jerome  preferred  to  take  the  trouble  of  pitching  a  small  tent 
which  he  had  brought  with  him,  and  to  remain  among  the  hogs 
which  over-run  the  corral,  to  sharing  the  dubious  accommoda- 
tions with  them. 

Sitting  in  the  wagon  while  the  process  of  pitchng  the  tent 


318  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

was  in  progress,  Marguerite,  several  times  shook  off  ,-m  immense 
cat  as  she  supposed  and  complained  of,  which  attempted  to 
climb  upon  her  lap.  Her  sight,  as  I  have  said  was  defective,  and 
in  the  deepening  twilight  she  could  not  see  but  could  feel  and 
hear  the  cat  clawing  its  way  upward.  Three  times  Laurence 
Jerome  came  to  drive  the  persistent  intruder  away,  and  each 
time  declared  that  there  was  no  cat  or  indeed  any  other  animal 
in  sight. 

The  Mexicans  crowded  about.  The  dingiest  individual  of  the 
lot,  however,  proved  to  be  a  Hoosier  and  he  had  told  ih-;m  that 
the  senora  insisted  that  a  huge  cat  was  clawing  at  the  laprobe 
and  climbing  upon  her.  No  one  could  see  the  cat.  But  a'l  crossed 
themselves  and  told  some  story  of  witch-craft  to  the  Hcosier  v.ho 
refused  to  translate  it  to  the  Americans,  only  saying  that  if  the 
incident  had  happened  to  himself  he  would  at  once  retrace  bis 
steps,  for  only  disappointment  and  danger  awaited  one  whom 
this  invisible  cat  had  visited. 

Next  morning  they  chose  to  pierce  the  mountain,  which  were 
here  known  as  the  Manzanos,  by  means  of  the  Salada  Canyoii 
instead  of  going  over  the  Abo  Pass  which  scaled  them  :*t  the 
same  point  of  entrance  to  the  range.  Except  by  rail,  Marguerite 
had  never  been  through  a  mountain  canyon,  and  her  delight  at 
the  rugged  beauty  of  the  scenery  was  unbounded. 

They  passed  the  ranch  to  which  they  had  been  directed  upon 
the  former  day,  without  even  seeing  it  and  passed  through  Salada 
and  the  short  Abo  Canyon  to  the  ruined  pueV:p  of  the  same  name, 
where  were  the  ruins  of  an  old  Catholic  Church  of  the  sixteenth 
— seventeenth  century,  near  and  around  which  was  the  Indian 
Pueblo  of  Juanita  within  which  was  the  tent  occupied  by  the 
Government  Indian  Agent  of  that  district.  Thence  they  jour- 
neyed on  to  Punta-Del-Agua  ("the  point  of  The  'Waters")* 
where  two  streams  meet  and  disappear  into  some  unknown  sub- 
terranean channel.  From  here  they  went  to  the  Line  ranch  of 
the  Antelope  Spring  cattle  range,  where  they  remained  over 
night,  making  the  aquaintance  of  a  family  of  Tcxans  who  had  the 
place  in  charge. 

The  woman,  who  wras  the  mother  of  seven  childi'en  was  worn 
and  fagged  with  the  pranks  of  her  unruly  brood,  who  teased  and 
tormented  her  continually.  But  so  soon  as  she  had  finished  her 
work  upon  the  sewing-machine,  after  number!  oss  interruptions 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  319 

from  her  eldest  son  who  clogged  the  wheel,  forcing  her  to  come 
to  an  abrupt  stop  every  few  minutes,  she  furbished  herself  np 
and  when  she  had  rubbed  her  gums  with  snuff  looked  os  she 
went  about  with  renewed  energy,  like  a  girl  of  sixteen  chatting 
with  her  guests  and  confiding  to  them  the  fact  that  she  hated 
the  place  and  longed  to  return  to  the  small  Texas  town  from 
which  they  had  removed  and  where  she  declared  that  she  "had 
always  been  used  to  'fast  s'ciety.'  ' 

From  the  Line  ranch  they  crossed  over  to  what  is  known  as 
"The  old  White-Oaks  Koad."  This  they  had  Lven  told  they 
must  follow  to  be  certain  of  obtianing  water,  the  death  of  which 
was  what  had  rendered  this  beautiful  grassy  valley  uninhabit- 
able. 

They  had  heard  and  believed  the  story  that  when  the  Az- 
tecs had  driven  out  the  priests  from  all  the  surrounding  territory, 
they  had  managed  in  some  inexplicable  manner  to  cover  ail  the 
known  water  supplies,  in  order  to  prevent  the  whites  from  again 
settling  in  and  robbing  the  sacred  Valley  of  Aztlan.  The  i'act 
that  the  springs  at  Abo  and  Punto  Del  Agua  and  other  places 
had  been  uncovered  from  under  solid  masonry  or  a  sort  of 
cement,  gave  credence  to  the  belief  that  the  water-supply  still 
existed  in  the  great  Gran  Quibira  valley.  The  story  of  this  buried 
water  was  one  of  the  things  which  tempted  people  to  explore  the 
greatest  known  ruins  in  America,  especially  the  sheep  and  cattle 
men  of  the  territory,  all  of  whom  at  some  season  of  the  year  fed 
their  flocks  and  herds  over  this  valley,  which  is  fully  forty  miles 
in  extent  of  both  length  and  breadth. 

Marguerite  said  decisively:  "I  believe  that  I  can  find  thft 
hidden  water,  which  must  flow  from  some  buried  spring,"  and 
an  incident  which  happened  to  them  along  the  route  confirmed 
her  in  this  belief. 

They  had  been  told  that  if  they  required  water  after  leaving 
the  Line  ranch  and  before  they  reached  the  Gallinas  Spring, 
they  could  cross  over  and  in  the  open  fields  to  the  left  of  the  road 
some  three  miles,  they  would  find  a  scant  supply  in  a  water  hole, 
this  being  not  very  long  after  the  periodical  rains.  They  did  this, 
and  filling  their  water  barrel,  made  their  way  back  to  the  main 
road.  They  had  travelled  but  a  mile  or  so  when  Marguerite 
said:  "Why  that  wagon-track  upon  the  opposite  bank  of  this 
ravine  is  the  one  that  we  have  just  followed  to  the  water." 

"Impossible,"  said  Laurence. 


320  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

"It  is  not  only  'possible'  but  is.  I  am  certain  that  if  thou 
clamberest  down  this  bluff  at  the  top  of  which  is  the  regular 
road,  thou  wilt  find  at  its  foot  the  very  water-hole  from  which 
thou  hast  but  now  filled  thy  barrel.  These  idiots  have  travelled 
from  time  immemorial  about  five  miles  for  the  water  which  lay 
directly  at  their  feet,  by  clambering  down  this  embankment." 

And  she  was  right. 

"Well,  little  girl,  for  one  who  does  not  see,  you  see  more 
than  the  average." 

"It  is  'quality,'  and  not  'quantity,'  which  tells  in  eyesight 
as  well  as  other  things.  I  recognized  the  descent  upon  the  other 
side  of  the  ravine  at  once. ' ' 

From  the  time  that  they  had  left  the  Line  ranch,  Marguerite 
had  watched  a  figure  in  the  clouds,  and  now  she  pointed  this  out 
to  Laurence,  anxious  to  determine  if  it  were  but  a  fanciful  image 
of  her  own  creation  1  But  to  her  wonder  and  delight  he  saw  it 
too.  This  was  the  figure  of  a  giant  woman  whose  waving  golden 
blue  eyes  looked  down  upon  them  with  an  expression  of  intense 
anxiety,  blent  with  tender  interest.  Her  face  of  wonderous  fair- 
ness was  perfect  in  outline,  of  feature  and  in  coloring.  Her 
form  seemed  to  float  just  beneath  the  clouds  and  kept  in  advance 
of  the  Jeromes  looking  •  backward  and  down  upon  them  con- 
tinually. In  her  right  hand  was  held  a  lighted  torch  as  if  to 
guide  and  light  them  on  their  way;  while  in  her  left  she  grasped 
a  cord  or  chain  by  which  she  led  a  snow-white  lamb.  It  was  a 
most  beautiful  fancy,  if  fancy  it  were,  and  for  almost  two  days 
Marguerite  watched  its  movements  and  marvelled  over  it;  be- 
lieving that  if  this  were  an  omen,  it  must,  augur  well  for  their 
undertaking. 

Soon  after  they  had  left  the  Salada  Canyon  being  in  doubt 
as  to  the  road  which  they  should  pursue  for  Punta  Del  Agua 
they  had  halted  two  young  boys  who  were  in  search  of  their 
stray  burros,  and  questioned  them.  This  was  rather  a  difficult 
task,  the  Jeromes  not  understanding  the  Spanish  language,  and 
the  boys  being  totally  ignorant  of  the  English.  One  of  the  boys 
condescended  to  attempt  a  reply  when  addressed  by  Laurence, 
but  the  other,  a  child  of  ten  or  thereabouts  with  a  beautiful  boy- 
ish face,  had  eyes  and  ears  only  for  "The  senora,"  whose  face 
was  still  one  of  beauty.  He  gazed  in  such  openly  expressed  ad- 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  321 

miration  upon  Marguerite  as  would  have  been  confusing  in  an 
older  person.  Evidently  the  lad  had  never  before  had  the  good 
fortune  to  see  an  American  woman  and  certainly  not  in  these,  his 
native  wilds,  an  American  Beauty.  This  incident,  slight  as  it 
was,  bore  fruit,  beside  forming  a  topic  for  amusement  and  con- 
versation between  the  two. 

It  was  indeed  very  strange  that  Laurence  Jerome  did  not 
from  this  road  behold  the  famous  ruins  of  which  he  was  in  search, 
for  although  about  six  miles  distant,  they  were  plainly  visible. 
For  it  must  have  been  at  a  point  just  above  the  ruins  where  they 
lost  sight  of  the  image  in  the  heavens  of  the  beautiful  woman 
whose  mission  seemed  to  have  been  to  guide  them  hither. 


21 


322  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

CANTO  THE  FIFTH. 

"A  WINGED  MESSENGER." 

But  Laurence  Jerome's  attention  was  then  directed  to  what 
seemed  to  be  the  opening  to  a  cavern  in  the  mountain  at  their 
left  hand.  So  greatly  was  he  interested  that  he  left  his  wife  in 
the  wagon  and  crossed  over  to  the  opening,  which  proved  to  be 
fully  a  mile  distant  although  it  appeared  not  half  so  far.  He 
found  upon  examination  that  the  seeming  open-mouthed  cave  was 
but  the  beginning  of  a  narrow  canyon  which  pierced  the  foot- 
hills of  the  Gallinas. 

Left  alone,  Marguerite  looked  about  her  so  far  as  her  defec- 
tive vision  permitted,  with  interest,  and  noted  many  land  marks 
which  afterward  proved  useful  in  locating  certain  disputed 
points.  She  hummed  the  air  of  a  favorite  opera.  She  was  at 
the  moment  within  neither  sight  nor  sound  of  any  human  being, 
and  was  possessed  of  that  exhilerating  sense  of  freedom  with 
which  this  inspires  one ;  when  suddenly  she  was  startled  by  the 
whiz  of  what  for  a  moment  she  believed  to  be  an  arrow  shot  close 
before  her  face.  She  laughed  at  her  own  fears,  saying  that  the 
sound  must  have  been  that  made  by  the  wings  of  a  bird  in  flight. 
But  this  was  followed  by  a  second,  and  then  a  third.  All  came 
from  the  same  point,  a  tree  some  fifty  feet  or  more  to  her  left, 
and  followed  the  same  direction  in  their  flight.  The  third  one 
came  so  close  as  to  almost  graze  her  forehead  and  to  leave  no 
doubt.  No  bird  could  have  flown  so  close  to  even  her  dim  vision 
without  being  seen,  and  beside  the  object  pierced  the  air  with 
steady  movement  and  not  with  the  flutter  of  wings.  It  was  cer- 
tainly an  arrow  sped  from  a  bow.  She  started  up,  calling  to  her 
husband  with  a  whoop  which  would  have  done  credit  to  that 
Comanche  chief,  himself,  of  whom  she  had  heard. 

Laurence  returned  soon,  without,  however,  having  heard  the 
Tocsin  sounded.  Diligent  search  was  made  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
tree,  but  no  footprint  or  other  sign  that  the  place  had  recently 
been  visited  by  human  kind,  was  to  be  discovered. 

Marguerite  was  puzzled  and  much  startled.  She  still  con- 
tended that  had  the  object  of  her  fears  been  even  a  very  small 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  323 

bird,  she  must  have  seen  it  as  it  had  nearly  touched  her  forehead 
and  it  seemed  to  her  inexplicable  that  she  could  not  have  seen 
an  arrow  as  well.  But  she  put  the  matter  aside  to  be  thought 
over  at  some  future  time. 

Along  this  road  they  came  to  a  wooden  cross  which  marked 
the  death  place  if  not  the  burial  place  of  some  poor  unfortunate 
who  had  met  with  accidental  death  upon  this  spot.  And  later 
they  heard  of  another  who  had  died  upon  this  selfsame  spot  of 
hunger  and  of  thirst,  while  fleeing  in  terror  from  those  of  his 
own  species  who  were  in  pursuit,  but  whose  death  even  was  un- 
recorded. 

They  journeyed  southward  until  they  came  to  the  Jaccarillos 
Mountains,  then  turned  about  in  quest  of  the  Gallinas  Spring, 
for  they  were  again  out  of  water,  the  team  insisting  upon  being 
fed  and  watered  whether  they  traveled  or  not. 

Some  rough  looking  Mexicans  en  route  by  saddle  and  by 
wagon  from  White  Oaks  to  Cyeniga,  guided  them  through  the 
mountains  to  the  reservoir  below  the  spring.  They  halted  along 
the  route  for  lunch  and  Marguerite  expressed  a  desire  to  dis- 
mount and  gather  some  Pinyon  nuts  which  were  new  to  her,  she 
having  never  before  seen  nor  tasted  them.  Without  permitting 
her  to  alight  among  the  men  whose  appearance  was  not  to  his 
liking,  Laurence  plucked  a  handful  of  the  nuts  and  presented 
them  to  her.  There  was  some  laughing  and  apparent  joking 
among  the  group  of  Mexicans,  then  the  youngest  of  the  party 
advanced  and  courteously  offered  the  senora  a  second  handful 
of  the  lucious  nuts.  Then  one  after  another  of  the  group  came 
forward  with  a  like  offering  which  they  also  tendered  shyly  to 
the  senora  feeling  amply  repaid  by  the  smile  and  "Thank  thee," 
which  she  gave  them  in  return. 

"Thou  seest,  hubby,  that  the  'devil  is  not  so  black  as  we 
would  paint  him.'  Now  who  would  have  believed  that  an  offer- 
ing could  have  been  so  gracefully  made  by  these  rough  looking 
Mexicans  ? ' ' 

They  filled  their  water  barrel  at  the  reservoir  and  in  the  in- 
nocence of  their  inexperience  they  were  coolly  driving  away  when 
they  were  roughly  reminded  that  something  more  tangible  than 
mere  thanks  was  expected,  as  an  equivalent  for  this  commodity, 
which  commands  a  high  cash  price  in  that  locality.  Marguerite 
waa  the  cashier  of  the  firm  and  an  examination  of  the  contents 
of  her  purse  showed  that  it  consisted  of  a  single  nickle  and  a 


324  LA   GRAN   QUIBIBA 

twenty  dollar  gold  piece.  She  innocently  tendered  the  latter  in 
payment  for  the  water.  Of  course  the  Mexican  who  owned  the 
reservoir  could  not  change  the  coin,  and  equally  of  course  he 
clamored  yet  more  loudly  for  payment.  Marguerite  happily  be- 
thought her  of  a  box  of  fine  smoking  tobacco  among  her  stores 
and  settled  the  bill  with  that,  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  concerned 
in  the  transaction,  and  the  Jeromes  were  permitted  to  go  upon 
their  way  rejoicing. 

Later  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day,  they  had  gone  into 
camp  for  the  night  when  they  were  visited  by  the  self-same  com- 
pany of  Mexicans  who  had  guided  them  to  the  water,  and_  had 
at  the  time  denied  all  knowledge  of  the  site  of  the  ruins  of  La 
Gran  Quibira.  Now  Marguerite  explained  to  them  their  own  de- 
sire to  visit  the  place  and  this  time  they  professed  to  know  all 
about  its  location,  and  reluctantly,  as  it  seemed,  pointed  out  the 
way  thither.  One  of  them,  however,  declared  angrily  that  it  was 
his  own  ranch  and  intimated  that  he  wanted  no  intruders  there. 
By  signs  and  pantomime  they  made  him  understand  that  they 
wished  only  to  see  the  Ancient  Ruins  and  then  return  at  once  to 
the  river,  and  the  party  of  natives  rode  away  apparently  molli- 
fied. It  happened  that  the  Jeromes  concluded  not  to  follow  the 
road  pointed  out  to  them,  Laurence  declaring  (and  rightly)  that 
it  would  lead  them  farther  away  from  the  place  they  were  seek- 
ing. They  were  at  the  time  encamped  near  the  point  of  intersec- 
tion between  the  road  to  the  springs  and  the  old  white  oaks,  or 
rather  the  old  government  road,  to  be  more  explicit,  which  had 
been  the  stage  and  freight  route  between  Santa  Fe,  and  Fort 
Stanton. 

Next  day  they  travelled  backward  upon  their  homeward 
route  fearing  to  leave  known  water,  and  that  night  camped  near 
the  "Poso"  which  they  had,  as  it  were,  surrounded  upon  their 
way  to  the  Gallinas  springs. 

The  moon  was  at  its  full.  There  were  so  many  night  sounds 
that  were  new  to  them,  that  neither  could  sleep.  Some  time  past 
midnight  they  heard  the  approach  of  wagon  wheels,  and  they 
arose  and  stepped  outside  their  tent,  when  to  their  surprise  the 
same  company  of  Mexicans  passed  by,  in  apparent  ignorance  of 
their  presence.  They  did  not  seem  to  see  the  tent  which  was 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  325 

pitched  in  plain  sight  not  twenty-five  yards  from  the  roadway. 
The  two  neither  spoke  nor  moved  as  the  cavalcade  swept  silently 
past,  along  the  road  which,  had  they  told  the  truth,  they  would 
have  traveled  the  previous  day.  They  could  not  but  suspect  that 
the  Mexicans  had  followed  the  false  path  upon  which  they  had 
sent  the  strangers,  and  that  by  some  interposition  of  providence 
had  been  blinded  to  their  presence  here. 


326  LA   GRAN   QUIBIBA 

CANTO  THE  SIXTH. 
"SANTA  MARIA  DEL  SOL." 

The  afternoon  of  the  thirty-first  day  of  October  was  without 
a  cloud.  The  blue  of  the  heavens  was  without  a  break.  Then  be- 
gan to  be  necked  with  fleecy  white  clouds  which  grew  larger  and 
larger  flitting  about  in  the  skies  like  swans  upon  the  blue  waters. 
All  day  long  the  Jeromes  had  traveled  through  a  forest  of  rin- 
yons  and  very  old  cedars.  It  must  have  been  about  four  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  when  suddenly,  a  dense  black  cloud  appeared  in 
the  south  and  settled  close  to  them,  then  another  approached 
upon  the  north  and  one  to  the  east  and  to  the  west.  So  sudden 
and  unexpected  was  their  appearance,  and  so  low  did  they  hang 
that  they  seemed  to  have  risen  from  the  earth  instead  of  descend- 
ing from  the  heavens,  and  so  dense  was  their  blackness  as  to  ren- 
der them  almost  impenetrable. 

Our  travelers  hastened  to  make  camp  at  once,  dreading  a 
terrific  storm.  What  seemed  most  singular  was  the  fact  that  sur- 
rounded completely  as  they  were  by  these  black  cloud  walls,  the 
sun  shone  brightly  from  above  upon  them  and  the  small  space 
which  they  occupied.  Along  the  road  near  by,  they  heard  the 
hurried  trampling  of  horses'  feet,  and  past  them  at  full  gallop 
went  the  two  boys  whom  they  had  questioned.  Laurence  and 
Marguerite  tried  to  halt  the  boys,  but  in  answer  to  their  loud 
"Halloos"  they  only  crossed  themselves  and  galloped  off  faster 
than  ever.  When  they  were  gone  the  dense  black  cloud  upon 
that  side  of  the  travelers  seemed  to  deliberately  cross  the  road 
and  hide  them  from  it.  All  through  the  night  that  followed  they 
heard  the  sound  of  many  voices  and  the  trampling  of  many  feet, 
and  heavy  blows  as  if  the  company  were  beating  the  brush  and 
bushes  in  a  prolonged  hunt  after  something  or  some  one  who  was 
missing.  At  first  they  "Hallooed"  frequently  but  receiving  no 
reply,  ceased  in  great  alarm. 

Long  after  when  Marguerite  heard  the  Legend  of  Santa 
Maria  Del  Sol,  how  Saint  Mary  Of  The  Sun  had  appeared  to 
two  lads  while  they  were  hastening  homeward  with  their  burros, 
after  several  days  search,  rising  from  out  a  thick  black  darkness 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  327 

which  had  fallen  upon  the  earth  in  the  middle  of  a  sunny  day, 
the  sunlight  resting  upon  her  alone,  from  out  of  which  she  had 
smiled  upon  them  and  called  to  them  each  by  name ;  (which  was 
the  truth  for  Marguerite  had  always  the  habit  of  asking  the 
names  of  all  whom  she  met  and  of  remembering  them  too.)  And 
of  how  in  their  fear  and  awe  they  had  vamosed  pronto  pronto, 
she  knew  that  it  was  she  who  had  played  the  part  of  the  'Blessed 
Virgin'  in  the  story  but  she  said  not  one  word  of  this,  for  both 
of  these  boys  had  strangely  enough  died  within  the  ensuing  year 
and  she  had  learned  the  superstitions  of  the  natives,  by  that  time, 
well  enough  to  fear  for  her  own  personal  safety  should  she  be 
accused  of  "Witch-craft." 

Next  morning  they  were  on  their  way  betimes  as  was  their 
custom. 

Naturally  the  event  of  the  previous  evening  was  the  theme 
of  their  thoughts  and  conversation.  There  seemed  to  be  no  doubt 
that  they  had  been  delivered  from  some  unknown  and  imminent 
danger  by  a  miracle  wrought  in  their  behalf.  But  few  drops  of 
rain  had  penetrated  the  sunshine  by  which  they  were  flooded  yet 
the  roads  beyond  were  very  muddy  from  a  heavy  fall  of  rain. 

They  left  the  forest  some  miles  behind  them  and  were  at  that 
point  where  the  descent  into  the  canyon  from  the  top  of  the  Mesa 
commences,  when  Marguerite  gave  a  little  cry  and  asked  Laur- 
ence to  stop  the  horses.  But  Laurence  was  grumpy  and  re- 
fused so  crossly  that  she  did  not  urge  the  point.  Later,  when  she 
told  him  she  thought  she  had  seen,  underneath  a  clump  of  bushes 
near  the  roadside,  an  oblong  box  which  looked  like  silver  and  had 
a  chain  attached  of  the  same  metal,  he  was  more  angry  than  ever 
because  he  had  not  heeded  her  request.  It  was  then  too  late  to 
retrace  their  steps,  and  fixing  the  precise  location  as  well  as  was 
possible  in  their  minds  they  passed  on  wondering  and  speculating 
more  than  ever. 

As  they  journeyed  they  noticed  that  the  few  people  whom 
they  met  failed  to  reply  to  their  "Buenos  Dios,"  but  either 
started  at  them  in  mute  surprise  or  turned  their  heads  aside  in 
apparent  fear,  never  failing  to  cross  themselves  with  pious  fer- 
vor. When  they  passed  through  Punta  Del  Agua,  it  seemed  en- 
tirely deserted  except  for  the  girl  who  attends  to  the  store  and 
who  refused  to  enlighten  them  as  to  the  reason  why  she,  too, 
stared  at  them  in  the  same  state  of  fear  and  wonder. 

' '  I  begin  to  think  there  must  be  something  '  uncanny '  about 


328  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

us,"  said  Marguerite.  "Is  there  anything  astonishing  in  my  ap- 
pearance, Hubby?" 

"Yes,  little  girl.  You  are  the  fairest,  the  most  beautiful 
woman  that  these  greasers  ever  set  their  eyes  upon. ' ' 

One  half  mile  to  the  east  of  Punta  Del  Agua  they  came  upon 
the  ruins  of  the  ancient  church  at  Quarra.  This  is  of  cut  stone, 
(red  sandstone)  and  must  have  been  a  very  handsome  edifice  in 
its  day.  Laurence  examined  the  structure  and  at  the  request  of 
Marguerite  he  brought  her  a  piece  of  rock  from  the  point  where 
the  altar  had  stood. 

This  ancient  church  is  situated  in  a  deep  ascent  they  now 
mounted,  the  high  or  Mesa  roads  being  always  the  best  in  the 
country.  This  Mesa  road  led  them  past  the  ruins  of  the  Pueblo 
Abo  again,  then  through  the  short  canyon  of  the  same  name, 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Salada  Canyon,  or  to  the  entrance  to  the 
Abo  Pass  through  which  they  chose  to  return. 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  o29 

CANTO  THE  SEVENTH. 

"A  RUNNING  STREAM  THEY  DARE  NA*  CROSS." 

It  was  upon  the  ascent  to  a  somewhat  steep  hill  that  their 
perverse  animals  refused  to  go  forward  and  halted.  It  was  of 
course  impossible  for  them  to  camp  in  the  middle  of  the  road 
which  was  not  wide  enough  for  another  wagon  to  pass  them. 
Much  valuable  time  was  wasted  for  night  was  fast  coming  on,  in 
using  all  manner  of  persuasive  arguments  to  induce  their  stub- 
born brutes  to  push  forward  a  few  yards  at  least.  Happily  a 
ranchman,  who  with  his  wife  had  been  to  the  mill  upon  the  river 
came  along  and  drew  the  team,  wagon  and  freight  of  the  Jeromes 
to  a  camping  spot  near  by. 

Now  if  there  had  been  trouble  in  getting  into  camp,  there 
was  much  more  in  getting  out,  and  no  'Good  Samaritan'  ap- 
peared to  assist  them.  It  was  almost  noon  before  a  start  was 
really  made.  For  Laurence  swore  and  belabored  the  refractory 
horses  in  vain,  and  Marguerite  scolded  him  and  protested  against 
the  injustice  of  whipping  the  steed  that  was  willing  for  the  de- 
fection of  the  one  that  was  lazy  and  not  willing.  Suddenly  this 
horse  himself  entered  angry  protest  and  rearing  himself  upon  his 
hind  legs  showed  his  teeth  in  a  vicious  snarl  and  deliberately  at- 
tacked the  angry  man  whom  he  would  have  struck  to  the  earth 
with  his  uplifted  fore  feet,  but  for  the  quick  eye  and  timely 
warning  of  Marguerite.  She  had  been  watching  the  proceedings 
and  was  at  the  moment  speculating  upon  what  seemed  to  be  the 
shadowy  form  of  a  priest  sitting  upon  the  cross  piece  of  their 
wagon-tongue,  which  in  spite  of  its  shadowy  outlines  appeared 
distinct. 

In  some  alarm  she  spoke  sharply  to  the  figure  and  drew  the 
attention  of  Laurence  to  it,  but  the  figure  vanished  for  a  time, 
and  it  was  noticeable  that  the  horses  relieved,  of  their  extra  bur- 
den, started  off  forthwith. 

They  passed  over  the  mountain  but  slowly,  for  the  shadowy 
form  of  the  priest  or  monk  had  once  more  mounted  to  its  seat 
upon  the  cross-tree  of  the  wagon  and  the  team  seemed  to  be  labor- 
ing under  a  heavy  load. 

In  the  middle  of  the  pass  they  espied  a  monstrous  rock. 


330  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

Both  observed  this  in  passing,  for  some  time  in  silence,  then 
Marguerite  said  as  if  to  convince  herself:  "That  rock  never 
grew  in  that  place.  Immense  as  it  is  it  has  been  placed  there  by 
the  hand  of  man. ' ' 

"I  was  just  thinking  the  same  thing,"  was  her  husband's 
reply.  "But  it  would  really  seem  impossible." 

Marguerite  pointed  out  the  fact  that  it  stood  by  the  side  of 
what  might  have  at  one  time  been  a  travelled  road. 

Dost  thou  not  remember  in  the  Salada  Canyon  thou  wast  al- 
most deceived  into  following  an  abandoned  roadway  leading  high 
up  on  the  cliffs,  and  from  which  thou  found  there  was  no  way  of 
retracing  our  way,  had  we  taken  it,  as  the  road  was  too  narrow  to 
turn  without  being  dashed  to  the  bottom  of  the  precipice  which 
grew  deeper  and  deeper  as  the  road  wound  on.  And  hast  thou 
forgotten  the  Lost  Mine  where  the  Saladas  are  said  to  have  got- 
ten the  riches  which  made  the  head  of  this  family  desert  the  old 
homestead  amid  the  wilds  of  the  canyon  and  make  his  way  to  the 
great  cities?  Well  that  roadway  circles  around  this  mountain- 
top  and  comes  out  here.  For  if  my  memory  is  not  at  fault,  it 
is  directly  over  that  crest  yonder.  No  wonder  that  they  who 
watched  in  the  hope  of  discovering  the  mine  from  which  the 
Saladas  of  the  olden  times  obtained  the  fabulously  rich  ore  they 
took  to  the  markets,  thought  that  the  Saladas  were  in  league  with 
the  devil  who  rendered  them  invisible  to  the  eyes  of  mortals,  for 
they  invariably  entered  the  place  by  that  roadway  and  circling 
around  left  it  by  this  path  which  is  several  miles  distant.  And 
I  will  wager  that  this  immense  boulder  closes  up  the  entrance  to 
the  lost  Salada  Mine." 

"I  believe  that  you  are  right.  I  have  never  known  your  in- 
tuition to  fail  you,  and  am  sorry  that  we  have  not  the  time  or 
rather  that  we  have  not  sufficient  supplies  to  admit  of  our  pros- 
pecting for  the  disused  mine.  We  can  only  mark  the  spot  and 
vist  it  at  some  future  day." 

All  this  time  Marguerite  was  straining  her  sight  the  better 
to  determine  the  actual  presence  of  the  Priest  upon  the  wagon- 
tongue.  But  she  saw  only  his  shadowy  form  and  tonsured  head, 
the  bald  crown  gleaming  through  the  thick  fringe  of  grizzled 
hair,  his  habit  of  greyish  brown  corded  at  the  waist  from  which 
hung  by  a  chain  a  book  or  box  which  resembled  that  she  believed 
she  had  seen  beneath  the  shrubs  upon  the  top  of  the  Mesa.  She 
supposed  that  Laurence  saw  this  figure  also,  but  neither  spoke  of 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  3S1 

the  apparition  aloud.  Marguerite  wished  to  be  certain  before  de- 
claring herself.  It  was  three  o  'clock  of  the  succeeding  day  when 
they  reached  the  Limestone  Spring  ranch  and  found  that  the 
former  occupants  of  the  place  had  vamosed,  and  that  they  had 
been  suspected  of  having  made  away  with  the  Jeromes  them- 
selves who  had  been  reported  to  have  mysteriously  disappeared 
as  they  could  only  be  traced  as  far  as  this  point.  They  did  not 
haU  here  wishing  to  get  some  miles  farther  on  before  night 
should  overtake  them.  So  they  passed  on  down  a  somewhat 
steep  incline  to  where  the  road  crossed  the  waters  of  the  brook 
which  flowed  from  the  walled  spring  itself.  The  bank  of  the 
little  stream  was  as  steep  of  ascent  upon  the  other  side  and  both 
felt  doubtful  if  the  apparently  much- jaded  horses  would  make 
the  crossing  successfully. 

Referring  to  the  story  of  their  own  disappearance  which 
they  had  just  heard,  as  they  were  making  the  dreaded  descent 
to  the  edge  of  the  water.  Marguerite  said :  "It  makes  one  feel 
odd  to  hear  that  their  own  dead  body  has  been  searched  for.  I 
declare  I  feel  as  much  of  a  ghost  as  that  monk  who  has  kept  us 
company  for  the  past  two  days.  Ugh!"  This  last  exclamation 
was  very  nearly  a  shriek,  for  just  as  the  stream  was  reached  the 
figure  of  the  Monk  dropped  to  the  ground  with  a  deep  sigh,  and 
in  plain  view  of  the  astonished  watchers  strode  toward  the 
walled  spring  along  the  side  of  the  little  brook,  and  the  horses,  as 
if  suddenly  relieved  of  a  heavy  burden,  crossed,  and  mounted  the 
bank  upon  the  farther  side  in  a  juanty  fashion  of  which  they 
had  before  seemed  incapable. 

"  'A  Running  Stream  They  Dare  Na'  Cross'  "  quoted  Mar- 
guerite in  wonder.  "Thou  sawest  the  monk,  didst  thou  not, 
hubby?  Thou  surely  must  have  seen  the  ghost." 

"I  both  saw  and  heard  him,"  answered  Laurence  Jerome, 
much  puzzled  what  to  make  of  the  affair.  "And  a  most  spiteful 
look  he  gave  as  he  passed  me  by.  Like  every  other  male  upon  the 
route  he  coveted  my  beautiful  wife,  I  dare  say,"  he  added  jocul- 
arly. 

That  night  they  camped  almost  within  sight  of  Los  Aguellos, 
which  they  were  unable  to  reach.  A  storm  was  impending,  and 
the  cowboys  who  belonged  at  the  ranch  coming  that  way  declared 
their  intention  of  returning  for  them  as  soon  as  they  had  cor- 
ralled their  herds. 

The  storm  broke  a  short  time  later  with  such  violence  that 


332  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

Laurence  Jerome  had  reason  to  congratulate  himself  upon  his 
forethought  in  detaining  them  long  enough  to  pitch  the  small 
tent  in  case  they  did  not  return  as  they  had  agreed.  For  they 
said  next  morning  the  darkness  had  settled  upon  them  so 
suddenly  they  had  lost  a  number  from  the  herd  while  in  the 
very  act  of  corralling  their  cattle.  They  had  not  become  aware 
of  this  fact  until  the  break  of  day.  They  came  however  in  the 
morning  as  soon  as  the  daylight,  with  many  apologies,  saying  that 
they  had  passed  a  sleepless  night  fearing  the  lady  had  met 
with  some  accident  in  the  storm. 

The  lady,  being  wet  to  the  skin  in  spite  of  the  shelter  the 
tent  afforded,  and  very  cold,  laughed  as  she  usually  did,  over  any 
mishap  and  followed  them  to  the  breakfast  they  had  already  pre- 
pared. 

The  Jeromes  remained  at  Los  Aguellos  over  the  next  night 
to  recuperate  both  themselves  and  their  horses,  one  of  which  the 
cowboys  dec'ared  to  have  been  locoed,  and  to  be  utterly  worth- 
less. The  following  night  they  camped  near  the  river  bank  hav- 
ing mistaken  the  way.  And  Marguerite  declared  that  of  all  the 
hardships  they  had  been  called  upon  to  endure  during  their 
'Gypsying'  which  had  lengthened  from  ten  days  into  three  weeks, 
that  night  capped  the  climax.  The  cold  was  so  intense  as  to  pene- 
trate through  all  the  protection  they  had  brought.  And  it  was 
aggravating  to  be  within  sight  and  sound  of  the  town  while  suf- 
fering this  discomfort. 

Once  there,  however  they  began  planning  their  return  to 
search  for  the  mysterious  ruins  of  La  Gran  Quibira,  as  they 
proposed  doing  in  the  Spring.  But  "Man  proposes  and  God  dis- 
poses" and  it  was  after  many  a  long  year  of  hardship  and  suf- 
fering that  they  once  more  took  up  the  trail. 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  333 

CANTO  THE  EIGHTH. 
"A  RETROSPECT— 'HIDDEN  TREASURES." 

It  is  strange  how  small  events  change  the  whole  tenor  of  our 
lives.  The  fact  that  Marguerite  refused  to  allow  the  claims  of 
the  owner  of  the  worthless  team  to  which  they  owed  all  the  ex- 
posure and  hardships  they  endured  during  their  three  weeks  out- 
ing and  their  great  disappointment  at  never  reaching  the  wished- 
for  destination  was  the  cause  of  their  being  prevented  from  re- 
turning to  this  search  for  years  to  come.  Money  as  I  have  in- 
timated was  at  this  juncture  not  very  plenty  with  the  Jeromes. 
And  Laurence  set  to  work  to  earn  the  amount  required  to  bring 
their  plans  to  a  successful  issue. 

The  livery  man,  finding  that  it  was  impossible  to  collect  from 
Laurence  more  than  the  twenty-five  dollars  already  paid  him, 
and  that  should  he  bring  suit  to  collect  he  would  be  worsted  in 
the  matter,  set  to  work  to  revenge  himself.  It  was  of  course  not 
possible  for  a  stranger  without  capital  to  enter  the  field  as  a  con- 
tractor nor  did  the  amount  of  work  to  be  done  in  thispl  ace  warrant 
this.  So  Laurence  braved  all-comment  and  went  to  work  by  the 
day,  intending  to  remain  in  the  place  only  long  enough  to  make  a 
"stake."  So  the  irate  Iveryman  contented  himself  with  having 
his  emissaries  follow  Mr.  Jerome  about  and  by  some  means  to 
have  his  employer  discharge  him.  (For  in  this  country  to  owe 
a  debt  is  considered  much  worse  than  to  commit  a  murder,  and 
the  few  friends  they  made  pointed  out  among  the  most  respected 
men  of  the  community  no  less  than  three  deliberate  murderers 
whose  money  had  averted  from  them  the  death-penalty).  If 
Laurence  Jerome  had  been  aware  of  this  underhanded  work  he 
might  have  defended  himself  from  it.  But  he  was  for  a  long 
time  unsuspicious  of  what  was  going  on  to  his  discredit,  and  as 
he  was  without  doubt  the  best  mechanic  of  his  trade  in  the  city 
it  seemed  very  strange  that  he  should  not  be  permitted  to  earn 
his  livelihood.  But  so  it  was. 

Detained  here  against  their  will,  Marguerite  set  to  work  to 
glean  all  the  information  possible  concerning  the  true  history  of 
this  country  and  especially  that  portion  of  it  which  related  to  the 
ruins  of  La  Gran  Quibira. 


334  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

Many  were  the  traditions  which  had  been  handed  down  of 
the  evacuation  of  this  place  and  of  its  ancient  inhabitants  and 
their  immense  possessions  which  all  alike  believed  were  still 
buried  among  the  ruins  or  in  their  immediate  vicinity. 

Marguerite  compared  these  stories  and  carefully  separated 
the  probable  from  the  improbable  applying,  as  she  said,  "The 
test  of  common  sense"  to  each,  finding  sometimes  a  single  grain 
of  truth  and  common  sense  in  them  which  she  carefully  preserved 
and  placed  alongside  of  other  grains  of  like  order  gleaned  from 
other  sources,  until  she  was  able  in  time  to  arrive  at  a  more  cor- 
rect idea  of  the  place  and  its  past  history  than  had  any  other 
archeologist  so  far  been  able  to  do. 

The  precise  date  of  the  discovery  of  the  site  of  the  Seven 
Cities  of  The  Cibola  was  involved  in  mystery,  but  that  the  com- 
munity of  Franciscan  Friars  had  been  massacred  or  driven  out 
with  the  other  priesthood  in  1680  was  an  established  fact. 

It  is  said  that  two  of  the  brothers  reached  Spain  in  safety 
and  as  was  but  natural  kept  the  secret  of  their  settlement  at  La 
Gran  Quibira  and  of  the  enormous  wealth  they  had  wrested 
both  by  fair  means  and  by  foul  from  the  natives,  for  the  benefit 
of  their  own  particular  order,  which  had  to  their  chagrin  not 
only  failed  to  benefit  by  this  disclosure,  but  to  believe  in  it,  and 
which  dealt  most  severely  by  them  as  a  couple  of  maniacs.  And 
indeed  the  riches  they  claimed  and  named  as  having  been  left 
securely  hidden  there  was  so  fabulously  great  in  its  entirely 
(amounting  as  they  declared  even  at  that  date  to  what  now 
would  be  thirty- two  millions  of  pecos)  as  to  be  beyond  belief. 

Marguerite  went  further.  Arguing  that  these  Friars  when 
forced  to  abandon  their  treasures  and  flee  for  their  lives  through 
an  enemy's  country  in  time  of  active  war,  in  the  fear  of  not  be- 
ing able  to  save  their  lives,  must  have  left  the  great  secret  in 
whole  or  in  part  to  some  of  the  devout  who  were  permitted  to  re- 
main in  the  country  when  the  priests  and  many  of  the  Hidalgos 
were  driven  out,  she  made  a  list  of  the  ancient  families  of  Span- 
ish origin  who  had  come  over  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest  of 
Mexico  and  wrote  to  the  principal  representatives  of  each,  asking 
for  information  of  the  history  and  traditions  in  which  their  own 
families  had  taken  a  prominent  part.  Her  search  was  rewarded 
by  many  new  and  fascinating  legends,  to  many  of  which  an 
added  interest  was  given  by  the  fact  that  they  were  founded  upon 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  335 

truth.  For  of  all  romances  the  historical  romance  possesses  the 
greatest  fascination.  Two  families  of  Spanish  and  Indian  origin, 
that  is  to  say  who  were  the  descendants  of  a  Spaniard  of  high 
degree  who  had  married  a  daughter  of  some  Indian  chief  of  high 
rank — possessed  among  their  family  archives  the  story  of  the 
evacuation  of  La  Gran  Quibira,  and  the  secret  of  the  burial 
place  of  the  church  and  monastery  relics,  which  had  been  left  to 
their  families  with  the  proviso  that  none  should  touch  them  under 
the  penalty  of  a  most  terrible  curse  resting  upon  them  and  their 
descendants.  This  secret  was  in  writing  and  was  handed  down 
from  generation  to  generation  as  the  keeper  died.  These  papers 
did  not  descend  from  father  to  son  as  in  all  other  affairs,  but  was 
always  given  in  trust  to  the  one  most  likely  to  preserve  it,  or  who 
would  give  all  that  might  be  secured  by  their  meddling  fingers 
to  the  church,  namely  the  most  devout  and  bigoted  catholic  in  the 
family. 

No  member  of  these  families  except  the  holder  of  the  secret 
himself  knew  with  absolute  certainty  who  was  in  their  own  time 
the  guardian  of  this  sacred  trust.  The  rest  could  only  suspect. 

With  a  patience  and  caution  which  she  herself  characterized 
as  truly  Jesuitical,  Marguerite  Jerome  found  out  the  two  posses- 
sors of  the  great  secret  of  those  two  families  in  the  territory  of 
New  Mexico,  and  heard  the  story  from  their  own  lips  proven  by 
the  written  descriptions  of  the  place  of  concealment  and  of  what 
it  contained,  in  the  old-time  Spanish  which  was  as  Sanscrit  to  her 
but  which  was  duly  translated  to  her  by  the  holders  of  these  an- 
cient documents.  She  owed  her  unprecedented  success  to  Laur- 
ence's former  intimacy  with  prominent  members  of  these  families, 
while  among  them  upon  the  occasion  of  the  preliminary  survey 
of  the  railway  line,  and  to  her  own  attractions  as  well,  for  her 
fair  face  was  much  admired  wherever  she  went,  and  especially  by 
the  dark  faced  Mexicans. 

The  enormous  treasure  comprised  the  great  church  bell 
which  was  declared  to  weigh  two  tons  and  to  be  one  half  gold, 
while  to  it  was  attached  the  chain  of  solid  silver  by  which  it  had 
been  swung  in  the  tower  of  the  great  church.  (This  was  not  al- 
together improbable  for  even  at  this  day  it  is  the  custom  among 
the  Mexicans  when  a  bell  is  to  be  cast  for  any  of  their  chapels— 
or  parochias  —to  throw  in  their  offerings  of  jewelry  and  coins 


336  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

to  add  to  its  value.)  Then  there  were  the  records  which  were 
beyond  all  value  and  in  her  eyes  far  more  to  be  coveted  than  all 
the  remainder  of  the  precious  stores,  for  by  their  means  could  be 
supplied  that  missing  link  in  the  history  of  the  country  and  its 
inhabitants  which  rendered  the  intelligent  study  of  the  Arche- 
ology and  Ethnology  of  the  place  so  confusing  to  the  student  of 
today.  Then  their  was  the  beautifully  wrought  golden  church 
service,  the  seven  golden  candle  sticks,  as  well  as  a  great  number 
of  censors  and  other  vessels  used  in  service,  described  as 
being  almost  beyond  belief  valuable,  besides  the  riches  of  the 
wealthy  monastery  whose  value  was  incalculable.  The  remiander 
of  this  vast  treasure  consisted  of  ingots  and  nuggets  of  refined 
gold  and  silver  in  enormous  quanitites,  besides  the  great  bulk  of 
the  valuables  and  jewelry  of  the  people  of  the  vicinity  who  had 
brought  them  here  for  safe  keeping  during  the  threatened  troub- 
lous times.  These  were  stored  away  in  certain  secret  vaults, 
situated  at  a  certain  distance  and  in  a  certain  direc- 
tion from  a  given  point,  and  the  precise  spot  which  marked  the 
entrance  to  these  vaults  which  were  covered  and  hidden  entirely 
from  view  was  indicated  by  a  certain  land-mark. 

The  two  lists  exactly  corresponded  each  with  the  other.  Now 
as  the  representatives  of  these  two  families  lived  hundreds  of 
miles  apart  and  were  total  strangers  to  each  other  and  to  the  fact 
that  this  secret  had  been  left  in  the  keeping  of  any  save  their 
own  family,  it  was  impossible  in  this  generation  at  least,  that 
there  could  be  any  collusion  between  them.  Marguerite  noticed 
what  another  might  not  have  seen,  that  the  wily  friars  while  mak- 
ing each  of  these  families  the  guardians  of  their  secret,  had  taken 
the  precaution  of  preventing  their  'greed'  from  conquering  their 
'piety'  to  the  extent  of  possessing  themselves  of  the  riches  by 
omitting  from  the  paper  they  had  entrusted  to  each  some  im- 
portant item  which  effectually  prevented  them  from  easily  locat- 
ing the  exact  place  of  concealment.  Thus  while  each  described 
hte  starting  point,  one  had  the  distance  without  the  direction, 
while  the  other  had  the  direction,  without  the  distance  and  in 
neither  was  any  mention  made  of  the  land  mark  by  which  the  en- 
trance was  to  be  found.  Marguerite  at  once  declared  that  there 
must  have  been  a  third  guardian  to  the  secret  and  since  none 
could  be  found  among  the  descendants  of  the  Spaniards  of  the 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  337 

day  she  concluded  that  the  third  family  must  have  become  ex- 
tinct, or  what  was  more  likely  the  secret  had  been  entrusted  to 
some  wily  Casique  who  had  been  converted  after  the  manner  of 
such  conversions  even  of  the  present  day  which  is  in  appearance 
only. 

As  time  went  on  chance  brought  to  her  very  door  the  third 
possessor  of  the  secret,  for  whom  she  had  sought  in  vain. 


338  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA. 

CANTO  THE  NINTH. 
"THE  KING  is  DEAD— LONG  LIVE  THE  KING." 

The  Jeromes  finding  it  impossible  to  save  a  sufficient  sum  for 
the  cherished  purpose  of  looking  up  these  old  ruins  and  of  re- 
maining among  them  as  long  as  they  wished  had  gone  to  house- 
keeping in  a  small  way.  One  morning  there  came  to  their  cot- 
tage door  an  elderly  Indian  accompanied  by  a  very  young  squaw. 
She  was  a  pretty  young  thing  with  a  voice  like  the  singing  of  the 
birds  of  her  native  wilds.  Marguerite,  with  her  facility  for  gain- 
ing knowledge  from  all  sources,  struck  up  an  aquaintance  forth- 
with, and  to  her  delight  saw  that  the  Indan,  in  spite  of  his  refusal 
to  say  so  in  plain  terms,  knew  of  La  Gran  Quibira.  While  con- 
versing the  young  Indian  woman  was  taken  suddenly  very  ill. 
Marguerite  at  once  took  her  into  the  cottage  and  without  think- 
ing further  than  that  the  young  squaw  required  prompt  atten- 
tion, she  put  her  to  bed  and  summoned  a  physician. 

Marguerite  had  in  the  beginning  of  their  acquaintance 
pointed  to  some  tiny  birds  which  had  been  moulded  to  poise  upon 
the  edge  of  numbers  of  the  pieces  of  pottery  the  Indians  had  for 
sale,  and  had  intimated  that  the  pretty  young  squaw  was  to  her 
mind  one  of  the  same  order  of  sweet  songsters,  and  called  her 
"Chipita."  (Little  Singing  Bird).  To  which  name  the  Indian 
girl  replied  with  a  laugh  so  sweet  and  musical  that  it  quite  won 
Marguerite's  heart. 

That  evening,  just  as  the  sun  went  down  a  boy  was  born, 
and  the  laughter  and  song  of  "Chipita"  was  stilled  forever,  or 
perhaps  only  for  a  time — upon  this  earth.  Who  shall  say  with 
certainty,  which  ? 

There  was  no  question  as  to  who  should  pay  the  bills.  With, 
out  a  murmur  the  fund  they  had  laid  aside  for  their  prospect- 
ing tour  was  sacrificed  to  the  needs  of  the  Indians  and  this  sacri- 
fice bore  fruit. 

Chipita  was  buried  and  the  babe  cared  for  until  a  woman  of 
its  own  race  and  tribe  came  to  take  charge  of  the  child. 

In  the  meantime  Ytzlacotl  had  told  Marguerite  many  things 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  389 

that  she  whom  he  worshipped  as  a  goddess,  had  not  been  able 
to  solve  for  herself. 

He  said  that  he  himself  was,  as  he  believed,  the  last  of  his 
own  nation,  which  had  been  the  richest  and  most  powerful  of  all 
his  race.  And  that  he  had  inherited  all  of  the  archives  of  his 
people  handed  down  through  generation  after  generation  through- 
out all  time.  Most  of  these  up  to  that  date  were  buried  away 
upon  the  very  ground  of  which  she  had  questioned  him.  Those 
which  had  since  been  compiled  were  now  in  his  own  keeping,  to- 
gether with  the  history  of  this  burying  of  the  great  treasure  and  the 
description  of  all  that  of  the  Spaniards.  He  claimed  that  he  was 
descended  in  a  direct  line  from  the  Casique  who  had  governed 
at  the  time  of  the  great  Indian  Insurrection  in  the  beautiful 
sacred  valley  of  Aztlan  wherein  was  situated  the  capital  city  of 
Culhaucan,  of  which  this  ancestor  was  High  Priest  as  well.  This 
ancient  Casique  of  the  past  was,  of  all  his  race  and  people  the 
wisest  of  his  generation,  and  finding  it  impossible  to  bar  out  the 
Spanish  friars  from  his  doman  he  played  the  part  of  friend  to 
them  and  lived  amicably  with  them  until  the  atrocities  practised 
by  the  white  race  upon  the  red  led  to  this  last  and  most  effective 
uprising  of  the  latter.  Because  of  their  unfailing  kindness  to  the 
natives,  the  lives  of  two  of  the  friars  of  La  Gran  Quibira  were 
spared  and  they  were  permitted  to  depart  in  peace  provided  they 
did  so  within  the  time  allotted  to  them  and  without  the  booty 
they  had  stolen  from  his  people. 

It  was  a  most  delicate  matter  to  play  the  part  of  friend 
to  the  Spanish  Priests  and  yet  still  to  maintain  his  authority 
among  his  own  people,  but  the  wily  Casique  was  equal  to  the 
occasion.  He  had,  the  better  to  serve  his  own  purpose,  been 
baptized  a  Catholic.  And  it  was  under  his  own  supervision  that 
the  wealth  they  had  wrested  from  his  people  and  had  themselves 
accumulated  from  other  sources,  which  were  unknown  and  un- 
suspected by  all  except  himself  and  the  few,  who  deemed  it  policy 
to  withhold  it  from  the  masses  of  their  people,  was  buried  and 
the  place  marked  that  it  might  be  easy  of  access  to  the  friars 
upon  their  return,  which  they  had  not  the  slightest  doubt  would 
be  very  soon,  for  all  of  the  many  Indian  Insurrections  of  the 
past  years  had  been  promptly  and  speedily  quelled.  But  this 
one  we  know  lasted  for  thirteen  years,  during  which  time  the 
water  had  been  buried  or  to  use  the  Indian  term  'killed'  by  the 
Aztecs  under  the  direction  of  this  great  Casique,  himself,  while 


340  LA   GRAN   QUIBIBA 

the  signs  which  had  been  placed  there  by  the  priests  to  indicate 
the  whereabouts  of  the  immense  treasure  had  been  removed.  Then 
the  whole  valley  had  been  destrted  by  those  who  survived 
this  bloody  war,  for  the  greed  of  the  Spaniards  had  by  this  time 
become  so  proverbial  the  Indians  knew  that  having  once 
made  their  way  into  the  Sacred  Valley  of  Aztlan  and  possessed 
themselves  of  much  of  its  treasure  the  Spanish  Priesthood  would 
move  heaven  and  earth,  so  to  speak,  to  repossess  themselves  of  it. 

Ytzlacotl,  the  descendant  and  namesake  of  this,  great,  good 
and  wise  Casique  of  the  Seventeenth  Century,  drew  from  his  own 
silver  case  and  from  the  envelope  of  inevitable  snakeskin  cover- 
ing he  produced  the  fac  simile  of  the  two  Spanish  documents 
already  described.  Marguerite  fairly  shrieked  with  delight  as 
she  beheld  it,  for  here  was  the  missing  document  which  in  its 
greater  completeness  contained  the  link  that  had  been  missing  in 
the  other  two,  for  here  was  not  only  another  list  of  the  so-called 
treasure  that  had  been  secreted,  but  it  told  the  exact  distance 
as  well  as  the  direction  from  the  point  of  measurement  and  de- 
scribed the  precise  spot  in  which  it  had  been  buried  and  the  land 
mark  they  had  placed  above  it,  and  other  natural  land  marks  by 
which  the  place  might  be  found,  should  this  one  by  any  chance 
have  been  removed. 

It  was  by  cajolery  and  some  deception  that  Marguerite 
gained  all  of  this  information,  for  the  Indian,  although  he  had 
volunteered  much,  grew  at  times  reserved  and  suspicious  and 
would  answer  no  questions  pertaining  to  La  Gran  Quibira.  At 
other  times  the  two  held  grand  council  as  to  the  best  means  by 
which  the  great  treasure  was  to  be  unearthed  and  the  uses  to 
which  it  should  be  put.  Ytzlacotl  utterly  refused  to  take  any  ac- 
tive part  in  the  attempt  to  recover  these  riches  and,  as  I  have  said, 
was  some  times  very  reluctant  to  pursue  the  subject.  But  his 
love  and  veneration  for  the  ' '  Senora  Americana, ' '  who  had  taken 
his  Chipita,  for  whose  loss  he  was  inconsolable,  to  her  heart  as  a 
sister,  and  who  watched  over  the  young  Casique  like  a  mother  or 
a  guardian  angel,  was  great  enough  to  sometimes  conquer  this 
reluctance,  and  little  by  little  Marguerite  gained  the  information 
she  so  eagerly  sought. 

Marguerite  took  care  to  explain  to  him  how  it  was  possible 
to  bring  about  the  fulfillment  of  the  prophecy  of  the  Ancient 
Priest,  King  and  prophet  Chaltzantzin,  by  applying  the  great 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  341 

wealth  so  Jong  hidden  away  in  disuse  and  darkness  to  redeeming 
his  race  from  the  captivity  of  ignorance  and  the  squalor  to  which 
they  had  been  reduced  by  the  Spanish  conquerors,  and  their  own 
intractibility. 

The  chief  listened  in  grave  and  pleased  attention  to  Mar- 
guerite's plans  for  the  good  of  his  people  and  it  was  agreed  be- 
tween them  that  the  one-half  of  all  that  might  be  uncovered  by 
means  of  this  betrayal  of  his  sacred  trust,  should  be  given  to 
him  to  be  used  for  this  purpose  while  the  remaining  half  should 
belong  to  the  Jeromes.  The  secret  of  the  whereabouts  of  the 
covered  water  supply  was  given  to  Marguerite  without  any  re- 
servation upon  the  part  of  Ytzlacotl. 

"I  will  be  godmother  to  the  child"  said  Marguerite,  "and 
he  shall  bear  my  own  name,  'Marguerite.'  ' 

"Mahraquirito,"  echoed  the  Indian,  in  an  awe-struck  voice. 
" Marahquirito  1  'She?'  It  has  been  foretold."  And  his  rever- 
ence for  the  "Senora  Americana"  was  intensified,  although  he  re- 
fused to  further  explain  his  words. 

So  the  young  Casique,  the  Chief  without  a  province,  the 
High  Priest  without  a  people,  King  without  a  Sovereignty,  was 
christened;  " Mahraquirito. " 


342  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

CANTO  THE  TENTH. 
"CURSE  GOD  AND  DIE." 

The  wish  to  solve  the  mystery,  as  it  appeared  to  her,  grew 
to  be  a  mania  with  Marguerite,  and  her  eagerness  to  overcome  the 
obstacles  which  fate  seemed  to  have  created  for  their  especial 
hindrance  became  greater  and  greater  as  time  passed  on  and 
found  them  still  detained  against  their  will  from  prosecuting 
their  further  search.  Twice  they  had  actually  started  for  La 
Gran  Quibira,  but  were  turned  back  by  the  inefficiency  of  their 
horses.  Marguerite  hoped  and  prayed  for  the  interposition  of 
a  higher  power.  All  in  vain.  There  were  many  other  things 
which  conspired  to  render  her  most  unhappy  and  rebellious.  Her 
youth  and  its  capabilities  for  the  enjoyment  of  life  was  passing 
away  and  she  seemed  bound  hand  and  foot.  Others  around  her 
were  able  to  do  as  they  liked  but  she — .  And  there  came  a  time 
when  she  rebelled  against  God  Himself  and  blamed  Him  as  the 
cause  of  her  misfortunes. 

Goaded  past  all  human  endurance,  there  came  a  day  when 
humbled  to  the  very  dust  and  trampled  upon,  she  heard  that 
whisper:  "Curse  God  and  die.  Curse  God  and  die."  Life 
seemed  so  entirely  worthless  to  her  under  the  circumstances  in 
which  she  was  now  placed.  Her  wish  was  but  one  and  that 
so  small  an  one  that  to  be  deprived  of  this  was  to  be  deprived  of 
all  hope  for  the  future ;  and  death  seemed  preferable  to  the  life 
she  now  led.  So  she  hearkened  to  the  Tempter  and  smarting  un- 
der an  unwarrantable  insult  she  one  day  paused  in  her  pacing 
to  and  fro  across  the  narrow  boundaries  of  her  room  and  raising 
her  arms  and  eyes  to  heaven  she  did  as  The  Tempter  bade  her 
and  in  low  but  distinct  accents  cursed  not  only  her  Creator  but 
pronounced  one  against  that  mother  and  father  who  had  brought 
her  into  this  world  of  sorrow.  For  was  there  aught  left  for  her 
but  sorrow  ?  Sorrow  most  bitter  for  that  portion  of  womankind 
who  strive  to  preserve  their  purity  both  of  thought  and  of  action  ? 
So  terrible  were  the  words  to  which  her  smarting  soul  gave  ut- 
terance that  the  very  air  seemed  to  hold  its  breath  in  mute  horror 
at  the  temerity  of  this  beautiful  woman,  standing  there  defying 
her  God  and  reproaching  Him  and  cursing  Him  as  well. 


A   MUSICAL,  MYSTERY  343 

"Curse  God  and  die."  The  curse  had  been  spoken  yet  the 
thunderbolt  did  not  fall.  'Was  it  because  of  that  involuntary 
homage  as  displayed  by  her  bowed  head  which  with  her  eyes  had 
drooped  and  bent  itself  to  receive  the  expected  death-blow.  (The 
confidence  she  felt  that  this  must  surely  fall  upon  her  was  in 
itself  a  proof  that  she  rendered  that  God  all  homage.) 

"Take  care.  Take  care,"  was  whispered  now.  But  amid 
the  awful  hush  of  that  moment  of  waiting  for  that  death  to  be 
dealt  out  to  her  as  had  been  threatened  to  one  who  had  cursed 
their  God,'  she  said:  "But  perhaps  it  is  the  Devil  himself  who 
speaks  this  warning.  It  were  a  pity  as  even  he  must  think  that 
a  creature  so  full  of  every  grace  of  mind  and  person  should  fall 
so  completely  a  victim  to  his  wiles  as  to  court  for  her  own  soul 
mtter  annihilation. ' ' 

But  Marguerite  paid  no  heed  to  the  warning.  Waiting 
until  she  realized  that  her  defiance  of  God  bore  no  fruit,  she 
raised  her  eyes  and  again  defied  and  mocked  Him,  daring  in  her 
insane  wrath  to  revile  Him  in  words  which  she  alone  had 
dared  to  use,  and  which  once  uttered  can  never  be  retracted. 
Then,  resenting  her  own  defeat  and  with  a  rankling  sense  of 
shame  upon  her,  she  went  about  her  accustomed  tasks  which 
grew  more  and  more  distasteful  to  her  day  by  day,  but 
were  never  left  undone. 

Yet  Marguerite  wondered  much  that  the  curse  fell  not  in  re- 
turn upon  herself.  She  had  been  taught  in  the  old  Quaker 
school  to  believe  in  and  interpret  the  sayings  of  the  Bible 
literally,  and  she  believed  she  had  only  to  defy  her  God 
to  court  total  destruction. 

The  expected  death-shaft  had  not  been  sped.  She  won- 
dered why.  And  still  more  did  she  wonder  at  the  feeling  of 
expectancy  which  was  still  strong  upon  her.  Thus  she  won- 
dered and  waited. 

The  third  day  of  this  waiting  came,  and  upon  that  day 
she  was  visited  by  a  peddler,  a  strange  uncanny  looking  person 
who  must  have  been  extremely  handsome  but  for  an  odd  yel- 
lowish pallor  upon  his  dark  face,  making  it  appear  as  that  of 
a  walking  corpse.  He  was  selling  fruit  extracts  and  Mar- 
guerite requiring  some  lemon  was  prevailed  upon  to  taste  that 
which  he  was  selling.  This  she  did,  however,  with  a  strange 


344  LA   GRAN   QUEBIRA 

reluctance,  her  eyes  resting  with  a  sort  of  fascination  upon  the 
corpse-like  visage  of  the  man  whose  handsome  features  seemed 
familiar  to  her.  As  she  tasted  the  extract  her  lips  stung  with 
a  sensation  as  if  branded  with  a  hot  iron.  The  demoniacal  tri- 
umph which  shone  in  the  glittering  black  orbs  of  the  man 
startled  and  enlightened  her. 

"Orville  Roumaine.  Thou  Leper,"  she  cried,  then  raised 
a  threatening  hand. 

The  man  cowered  and  shrank  back,  putting  up  his  hands 
in  piteous  appeal.  But  the  words  by  which  he  was  driven  out 
"doubly  accursed,"  fell  cold  and  pitiless  from  Marguerte 's 
lips.  He  went,  slowly  backing  himself  out  with  looks  of  fear 
and  horror  and  supplication  and  spite,  all  blended  upon  his  evil 
countenance. 

As  for  Marguerite,  she  knew  that  the  curse  had  fallen. 
She  might  not  die  that  sudden  death  which  would  have  given 
her  respite  from  all  worldly  cares.  She  was  doomed  instead  to 
live  the  life  of  the  Accursed  One,  from  whom  God  has  forever 
turned  away  the  light  of  His  countenance.  Marguerite  fe't  the 
hot  pain  speed  from  her  lips  to  her  heart  and  scatter  through- 
out her  whole  frame,  then  recede  leaving  a  chill  as  of  death 
upon  her.  In  that  one  moment  she  realized  the  horrible  fate 
which  had  overtaken  her.  But  here,  as  in  all  things,  her  in- 
tense individuality  asserted  itself;  and  as  was  her  wont,  she 
laughed,  and  with  mocking  reverence  said :  ' '  Thy  will  be 
done,  Oh,  God,"  then  took  up  the  burden  of  her  life  anew, 
just  wrhere  she  would  have  cast  it  off. 

"What  happened?"  So  many  things  that  it  would  take 
a  volume  to  .relate  them  all.  Disease  and  trials,  which  ren- 
dered life  even  more  unendurable.  "Death  in  life."  Poverty 
and  disgrace,  (not  of  her  own  courting,  for  after  that  one 
defiance  of  her  God,  Marguerite  sinned  no  more,  but  took  a 
sort  of  pleasure  in  bearing  her  punishment  bravely,  although  not 
unmurmuringly.  And  through  it  all  she  heard  the  singing 
of  the  spider  which  had  fastened  upon  her  brain  and  wound 
it  round  and  about  with  the  eternal  meshes  of  its  interminable 
web.  She  knew  she  could  not  escape  from  its  toils,  so  she 
said:  "I  will  make  use  of  that  from  which  I  cannot  escape. 
Sing  me  to  sleep."  For  insomnia  had  taken  so  strong  a  hold 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  345 

upon  her  that  she  had  either  to  resort  to  the  use  of  opiates 
or  to  hearken  with  undivided  attention  to  the  soft  murmur  of 
the  spider's  song  in  order  to  sleep  at  all.  What  the  spider 
sang  to  her  was  a  secret  she  never  revealed.  But  it  was  Mar- 
guerite's habit  to  extract  wisdom  and  knowledge  from  all  pos- 
sible sources,  and  from  its  false  blandishments  she  learned 
many  truths  because  of  her  faculty  of  being  able  to  detect  the 
falsity  of  its  sophistries. 

Her  sight  grew  more  and  yet  more  dim.  Her  eyeballs 
stung  and  racked  her  nerves  with  their  incessant  pain.  When 
she  rubbed  them  to  clear  them  of  some  foreign  obstacle  which 
clogged  them,  live  things  seemed  to  dart  forth  from  them. 
These  microbes  she  called  "the  bone  workers."  These  seemed 
to  be  a  slender  insect,  shapeless  except  for  its  long  needle- 
pointed  bill,  headed  by  a  single  eye,  and  bits  of  bones  which  they 
had  hacked  away,  both  white  and  blackened  by  rot  were  forced 
out;  then  long  hairs  covered  with  vermin  which  may  have  been 
those  of  the  hairy  spider  himself  were  removed  by  her  unresting 
fingers.  At  last  there  sprang  forth  a  tiny,  spiral  snake. 
These  she  preserved,  but  they  met  with  accidental  destruction 
before  she  could  display  them  to  the  physician  who  visited  her 
m  her  hapless  condition.  She  spent  much  of  her  time  in  the  bath, 
feeling  somehow  that  water  might  purify  her,  but  when  she 
bathed  her  hot  and  aching  head,  each  individual  hair  rose  up 
on  end  and  attacked  her  like  the  scourging  of  many  lashes  or 
the  stinging  of  the  multitude  of  serpents.  Much  she  bore  in 
silent,  unmurmuring  patience,  feeling,  by  that  one  act  of 
defiant  insubordination  against  the  Divine  Will  she  had  courted 
the  severest  chastisement;  but  often,  too,  in  fear  and  trembling, 
when  she  called  loudly  upon  the  name  of  that  God  whom  she 
had  insulted  and  defied. 

Figures  innumerable,  clad  in  the  blackened  and  soiled  gar- 
ments of  the  grave,  kept  continual  and  tireless  watch  upon  her 
every  movement  and  action  and  thought,  in  a  dread  silence 
that  was  more  terrible  to  endure  than  all  else.  There  they  stood 
in  their  grave-clothes,  silent  and  motionless,  the  black  spirits  and 
the  gray,  their  eyes  gleaming  with  phosphorescent  glow,  turn- 
ing as  she  turned,  but  otherwise  without  motion.  She  outlined 
them  plainly  and  their  dead,  expressionless  faces  grew,  after  a 
time,  to  be  familiar  to  her.  Sometimes  she  felt  the  clutch  of 


346  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

their  dead  hands  upon  her,  and  time  after  time,  they  tripped 
her  in  her  walk.  All  that  she  ate  seemed  instinct  with  animal 
life.  From  every  kind  of  vegetable  shot  forth  those  tiny  spiral 
worms  or  snakes,  while  every  leaf  was  covered  with  lice,  and 
round  and  round  the  loins  of  meat  which  they  procured  wound 
the  terrible  tape-worm,  its  length  formed  like  the  seed  of  a 
muskmelon  blanched  to  snowy  whiteness,  and  when 
opened  were  found  to  be  filled  with  microbes,  which  were  in 
their  turn,  like  small,  black  seeds— the  seeds  of  destruction  and 
of  death. 

So  Marguerite  told  her  husband,  as  she  pointed  them  out  to 
him,  and  day  after  day  they  threw  out  these  supplies  and  lived 
for  months  upon  carefully  prepared  bread  and  coffee  made 
strong  as  lye  to  supply  them  with  the  strength  they  required  to 
support  existence.  And  through  it  all  they  delved  and  saved 
for  the  purpose  they  had  in  view,  and  then,  once  again,  were 
forced  to  put  it  to  other  use. 

Marguerite  had  grown  too  ill  to  walk  about,  and  was  or- 
dered by  her  physician  to  another  climate.  So  the  money 
saved,  which  was  not  yet  sufficient  for  their  great  purpose, 
was  used  to  carry  them  to  Denver,  where  she  could  receive  the 
care  and  attention  she  required.  And  Laurence  began 
again. 

The  change  did  Marguerite  good,  and  except  that  her  tor- 
mentors did  not  abate  their  torture,  she  was  much  better.  Her 
courage  and  indomitable  will  asserted  themselves,  and  she 
learned  to  ignore  the  tireless  eyes  which  were  ever  bent  in 
silence  upon  her,  and  to  believe  that  success  was  meant  for  her 
should  she  be  able  to  rise  above  the  new  and  hampering  influ- 
ences to  which  she  was  now  subjected.  In  a  few  months  they 
were  able  to  return  to  New  Mexico.  But  here,  again,  they 
were  rebuked  by  accident,  and  did  not  reach  their  goal.  Once 
again  the  life  of  Tantalus  was  theirs ;  the  point  upon  which  their 
hopes  were  centered  was,  as  it  were,  within  sight  yet  just  be- 
yond their  reach. 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  347 

CANTO  THE  ELEVENTH. 

"HO!     FOR    LA    GRAN    QUIBIRA!" 

Event  after  event  occured  to  delay  the  accomplishment  of 
the  wishes  of  the  Jeromes.  Events  so  trivial  that  they  seemed 
more  irritating  than  if  they  had  been  of.  greater  importance. 
Time  after  time  their  slender  hoard  had  to  be  encroached  upon 
as  in  the  case  of  Chipita  and  her  baby.  Then,  too,  they  were  com- 
pelled to  contend  against  that  underhand  persecution  which 
continually  went  on,  unsuspected,  except  for  its  dire  effect.  For 
years  they  fought  this  enemy  in  the  dark,  before  the  hand  that 
tortured  them  was  made  apparent. 

It  was  late  in  the  Autumn  when  they  once  more  bent  their 
steps  toward  La  Gran  Quibira.  This  time  it  was  from  a  small 
railway  town  much  farther  to  the  south  of  the  one  from  which 
they  had  before  started.  It  was,  too,  by  a  very  roundabout  way 
they  journeyed,  crossing  the  Rio  Grande  by  means  of  the 
bridge  at  San  Antonio,  through  the  Obscuria  (dark)  mountains, 
by  a  very  long  canyon  whose  intricate  windings  finally  brought 
them  out  upon  the  government  road  to  White  Oaks  near  the 
"Malpis, "  where  the  freighter  who  had  brought  most  of  their 
load  thus  far  left  them  amid  the  vast  piles  of  lava,  as  bleak  and 
desert  a  spot  as  can  well  be  imagined.  They  left  this  surplus 
baggage  at  the  cattle  range  at  Red  Lake,  and  after  many  delaying 
adventures  reached  La  Gran  Quibira  at  last. 

This  was  late  in  the  afternoon  of  a  bleak  Winter's  day  when 
their  team  of  Mexican  mules  stopped  short,  refusing  to  go  far- 
ther, within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  top  of  La  Gran  Quibira 
hill  upon  the  summit  of  which  the  vast  ruins  of  church  and 
monastery  reared  themselves  to  the  height  of  fully  thirty  feet. 
It  was  an  utter  impossibility  to  urge  their  tired  mules  farther. 
So  they  made  unwilling  preparation  to  camp  just  where  the 
wagon  had  stuck  in  the  sand.  After  a  hurried  walk  to  the  top 
of  the  hill  without  however  getting  so  far  as  the  church  itself, 
Marguerite  returned  disappointed,  and  made  up  the  beds  in  the 
wagon  for  the  night. 

Throughout  the  long  and  much  retarded  journey  from  the 


348  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

Rio  Grande  she  had  picked  up  all  the  information  she  could  from 
the  people  they  had  chanced  to  meet.  And  from  this  and  her 
own  observations  had  come  to  a  conclusion  as  to  the  source  of 
the  reputed  wealth  of  the  Franciscan  friars  who  had  evacuated 
this  place  more  than  two  centuries  previous  to  that  time. 

Laurence,  tethering  the  refractory  mules,  had  strolled  back 
toward  the  crest  of  the  hill,  and  seated  himself  at  a  spot  to  which 
Marguerite  had  drawn  his  attention  in  passing,  saying  that; 
"Here  might  be  the  water,"  since  she  had  noticed  a  section  of 
rounded  stone  that  might  have  formed  a  portion  of  the  curb  to  a 
well. 

Marguerite  herself  made  hasty  preparations  for  the  night, 
grumbling  as  she  did  so  that  she  had  not  been  able  to  penetrate 
farther  into  the  ruins,  the  fast-approaching  twilight  rendering 
haste  imperative. 

"This  is  surely  the  mysterious  Valley  of  Aztlan,  and  I  am 
convinced  that  my  theory  regarding  the  source  of  their  riches  is 
the  correct  one.  There  is  nothing  in  the  country  through  which 
we  have  just  passed  to  warrant  the  belief  that  the  brothers  ob- 
tained their  fabulous  wealth  from  the  mines  as  has  been  asserted. 
All  the  ore  we  have  seen  is  refractory  and  certainly  could  not 
have  been  successfully  handled  at  that  remote  period  of  time.  The 
enormous  buildings  show  however  that  this  place  was  beyond 
question  one  of  vast  wealth.  "Oh!  How  I  wish,"  she  cried,  "I 
knew  where  to  find  the  graves  of  the  Ancients  from  which  the 
friars  took  their  riches.  There  may^yet  be  some  that  have  never 
been  despoiled." 

"Why  not  dig  here?"  asked  a  voice  near  at  hand.  And 
looking  up  from  her  occupation  Marguerite  saw  that  a  man, 
habited  as  a  monk,  stood  beside  the  wagon.  She  looked  at  him 
curiously,  wondering  how  he  could  have  approached  so  near  with- 
out her  having  observed  him.  She  was  not  startled  in  the  least 
degree  except  by  that  sense  of  familiarity  as  of  some  one  whom 
we  have  known  before  yet  whom  we  cannot  place  or  name.  The 
man  was  tall  and  slender  with  that  attenuation  of  flesh  which 
implies  great  strength  rather  than  weakness.  Strength  of  spirit 
as  of  body,  for  his  pallor  was  that  as  from  fasting  and  prayer 
and  not  as  from  illness.  His  thin  dark  face  was  handsome  in  the 
extreme,  his  beautiful  dark  blue  eyes  seemed  somehow  to  irradi- 
ate the  pale  olive  tint  of  his  finely  cut  features,  and  looked  into 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  349 

her  own  with  an  expression  of  such  loving  gentleness  that  it  was 
impossible  to  fear  him  in  the  least.  Marguerite,  at  the  request 
of  the  friar,  went  on  to  explain  what  her  own  belief  was  in  re- 
gard to  the  place.  He  did  not  say  this  in  so  many  words,  but 
Marguerite  felt  from  his  manner  which  showed  some  surprise 
that  she  had  indeed  hit  upon  the  truth. 

' '  Oh !  sir !  Tell  me  if  thou  canst  where  are  any  of  these 
graves  which  thy  people  have  not  plundered,  that  I  may  search 
them  for  myself." 

The  stranger  smiled  kindly  down  into  her  eyes,  and  admir- 
ingly too  as  it  seemed,  and  repeated  his  former  question,  "Why 
not  dig  here?" 

Then  for  the  first  time  Marguerite  felt  a  little  startled,  for 
she  and  the  monk  seemed  to  be  standing  upon  the  precise  spot 
upon  which  she  had  left  Laurence,  and  not  in  the  wagon  nearly 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  distant  from  it.  But  before  she  could  re- 
cover the  shock  this  gave  her,  the  voice  of  her  husband  asking: 
"  What  did  you  say,  little  gir),"  broke  the  spell,  and  the  priest 
walked  away.  And  as  he  turned  she  seemed  to  recognize  him  and 
called  after  him:  "Francisco!  Francisco!" 

He  turned  with  outstretched  hands  and  smiling  face  as  if  he 
too  had  solved  a  doubt  and  softly  answered  "Is  it  Thou,  Mauri, 
Mauri.  Thou  hast  come  to  me  at  last."  And  he  would  have 
approached  her  the  second  time  but  again  the  voice  of  Laurence 
Jerome  cried :  ' '  Little  girl !  little  girl !  What  do  you  want  ? ' ' 
Then  came  rapidly  toward  the  wagon,  while  the  monk  vanished 
where  he  stood.  And  for  the  first  time  Marguerite  realized  that 
she  must  have  been  speaking  with  a  ghost,  and  not  with  a  real 
person  as  she  had  believed. 

Laurence  Jerome  had  been  wont  to  sneer  at  all  believers  in 
the  visitations  of  spirits,  but  such  was  his  faith  in  Marguerite's 
perspicacity  that  he  believed  in  the  friar.  Beside  he  had  himself 
heard  her  voice  in  conversation  with  a  second  person.  Marguerite 
did  not  even  withhold  from  the  promise  that  the  friar  had  whis- 
pered as  he  vanished  in  the  air,  as  it  were,  "I  will  come  again." 


350  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

CANTO  THE  TWELFTH. 

"FOOT  PRINTS  OF  THE  PAST." 

Next  day  after  many  futile  attempts  upon  his  part  to  induce 
the  mules  to  draw  the  wagon  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  Laurence 
made  his  way  down  to  where  he  saw  a  shanty  a  half  mile  distant, 
and  secured  the  services  of  a  man  and  span  of  horses  by  whose 
efforts  united  to  his  own  and  those  of  his  mules  they  got  into  their 
chosen  camp  directly  in  front  of  the  ruined  monastery  and  with- 
in a  few  feet  of  the  church  front.  Here  the  Jeromes  camped  for 
two  weeks,  prowling  about  among  the  ancient  buildings  to  their 
heart's  content,  but  seldom  alone,  for  to  their  astonishment  there 
were  many  visitors  to  the  place. 

The  rainfall  of  that  year  had  been  almost  without  precedent 
within  the  memory  of  those  who  knew  of  the  place.  And  the 
lagoona  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  a  half  or  three  quarters  of  a  mile 
away,  had  filled  with  water,  which  it  had  not  done  for  twenty 
years  before.  This  brought  the  sheep  men  into  the  valley,  and 
during  the  winter  many  thousands  of  sheep  fed  over  the  grassy 
slopes.  There  were  no  curiosities  to  be  found  here,  everything 
seeming  to  have  been  well  despoiled,  and  the  pottery  broken  to 
atoms;  while  the  ground  was  everywhere  strewn  with  human 
bones. 

The  great  church  was  cruciform  and  measured  almost  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  length,  and  was  fifty-two  feet  wide 
within  the  walls  which  were  fully  six  feet  in  thickness.  The 
great  entrance  door  faced  to  the  east,  and  there  was  upon  this 
side  a  door  which  led  into  a  small  room  adjoining  the  church  on 
the  north,  and  from  which  a  door  led  into  the  structure  from  the 
north  side  close  to  the  front.  The  walls  were  unbroken  from  this 
door  upon  the  north  side  back  to  where  the  arms  of  the  cross 
reached  out,  but  the  south  wall  was  pierced  by  three  immense 
openings  which  seemed  to  have  led  into  a  portion  of  the  adjoin- 
ing monastery.  The  north  arm  of  the  cross  was  a  solid  wall,  but 
in  the  south  arm  was  a  wide  low  doorway  which  gave  entrance  to 
a  large  apartment  that  joined  the  church  to  the  monastery.  The 
church  seemed  to  have  been  newly  built  at  the  time  the  place  had 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  351 

been  deserted  by  the  Franciscan  friars.  It  was  of  simple  rub- 
ble work,  heavy  and  massive  as  it  was,  while  the  monastery  which 
seemed  to  ante-date  it  by  centuries,  showed  much  finer  masonry, 
having  in  the  beginning,  as  it  would  seem,  been  built  of  cut  stone. 

"This,  I  am  certain  must  have  been  the  palace  of  the  ruler 
at  the  time  the  wily  priests  took  possession  of  the  place," 
Marguerite  declared.  "But  explain  to  me  if  thou  canst,  hubby, 
how  it  comes  about  there  are  are  large  and  so  to  speak  modern 
windows  in  this,  as  thou  seest;  and  there  in  that  other  building 
which  adjoined  it  upon  the  east,  the  whole  surface  of  the  ground 
is  covered  with  smoky  Topaz  which  shows  the  action  of  fire  and 
looks  very  much  like  broken  fragments  of  old  beer  bottles,  or  in 
other  words  glass  which  could  scarcely  have  been  invented  at  the 
time  when  this  place  is  said  to  have  been  abandoned. 

"Which  proves  that  the  natives  of  this  country  were  ahead 
of  the  Europeans  in  that  most  important  invention,"  said  Laur- 
ence, laughing. 

"Which  proves,"  echoed  Marguerite  thoughtfully,  "that 
this  place  was  inhabited  fully  a  century  later  than  the  supposed 
desertion  of  it  and  that  here  is  a  second  mystery  to  be  solved. 
Stand  here  and  observe  the  interminable  line  of  cedar  trees,  and 
mark  this  fact;  that  the  oldest  of  these  appear  to  have  been  set 
out  according  to  a  certain  design,  following  certain  lines  and 
forms.  And  dost  thou  not  see  that  the  oldest  have  all  been  trim- 
med to  a  certain  shape  in  their  early  years — that  of  a  cross.  Na- 
ture takes  upon  herself  many  freaks,  but  I  cannot  quite  believe 
that  she  trimmed  those  trees  after  that  fashion." 

"I  admit  it  would  look  that  way,  little  girl.  But  it  is 
impossible  you  see — ." 

"  ' Nothing  is  impossible, '  "quoted  Marguerite,  sententiously. 
"I  am  convinced  that  I  am  right  in  believing  this  place  was 
inhabited  for  fully  a  century  after  its  supposed  evacuation,  and 
that  by  a  people  who  were  up  to  the  times  in  all  things.  I  will 
never  rest  until  I  have  solved  the  mystery,  of  who  were  these 
people  and  of  what  became  of  them." 


352  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

CANTO  THE  THIRTEENTH. 
"MYSTIC  MUSIC." 

All  that  first  day  of  their  stay  among  them  the  Jeromes 
devoted  to  the  ruins.  The  church  I  have  described  as  to  size  and 
extent.  It  must  have  been  a  most  imposing  structure,  is  still 
thirty  feet  in  height  except  upon  the  west  end,  which  had  been 
capped  by  a  great  bell  tower.  When  Laurence  Jerome  had  visited 
the  place  some  years  previous  to  this  a  portion  of  this  tower  was 
yet  in  place  and  a  part  of  the  church  was  still  under  roof  while 
the  carved  gallery  timbers  were  all  in  place  above  the  great  en- 
trance door.  The  roof  had  been  of  tiles,  and  it  would  seem  to 
have  been  floored  and  wainscoted  by  the  same,  as  well,  for  many 
of  these  of  both  white  and  of  a  most  beautiful  blue  limestone  were 
scattered  about. 

The  monastery  which  adjoined  the  church  had  also  been  of 
immense  proportions.  From  the  number  of  rooms  whose  walls 
could  still  be  traced,  many  of  which  were  even  now  a  full  story 
in  height  and  from  the  fact  that  there  had  been  a  second  story 
at  least  to  the  building,  it  could  be  determined  that  the  structure 
had  originally  contained  more  than  seventy  rooms.  In  the  cen- 
ter was  the  customarypZacifa  or  inner  court.  This  was  the 
pleasance  of  the  inmates,  and  extending  around  all  of  its  four 
sides  was  a  wide  corridor,  an  unusual  affair  in  most  buildings  of 
the  period,  where  the  rooms  all  opened  directly  into  the  placila, 
upon  the  west  and  southern  sides  of  the  buildings.  There  was 
but  one  apartment  in  the  whole  of  this  structure  which  bore  evi- 
dence of  having  been  heated.  In  a  small  inner  apartment  upon 
the  southern  side  of  the  building  was  a  fire  place  built  after  the 
manner  of  all  Aztec  buildings  across  one  cornor  of  the  room. 
This  room  especially  was  filled  for  some  feet  above  its  floor  with 
debris  from  the  fallen  walls  and  an  accumulation  of  ashes  which 
seemed  to  have  been  strewn  to  a  greater  or  less  depth  almost 
everywhere  both  within  and  without  the  buildings  of  this  ancient 
town.  Digging  down  to  the  depth  of  about  six  feet  beside  the 
fireplace  Laurence  found  the  hearth-stone  upon  which  was  the 
remains  of  the  last  fire  that  had  ever  been  built  upon  it,  as  his- 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  353 

tory  would  indicate,  more  than  two  hundred  years  before.  Two 
charred  sticks  of  wood  still  remained  in  place,  and  upon  the 
hearth-stone  was  a  small  pitcher  and  plate  of  that  particular  de- 
sign in  pottery  which  Marguerite  called  "The  Church  Service," 
the  bits  which  were  found  of  this  particular  kind  and  design  of 
pottery  being  nowhere  except  in  and  about  the  church  and  mona- 
stery. This  was  a  very  fine  pottery  of  a  light  brown  color  with 
the  designs  in  dark  seal  brown  not  baked  in,  but  seemingly  ap- 
plied with  a  slender  brush  to  the  plain  surface.  And  this  was 
bright  like  a  shining  varnish  that  had  been  made  by  melting  the 
smoky  Topaz  and  applying  it  while  in  solution.  Most  of  the  designs 
were  the  same  which  Marguerite  had  noted  with  surprise  upon 
much  of  the  Indian  pottery  of  very  ancient  date.  The  Egyptian 
chain  entire  or  with  broken  links,  which  was  more  common.  (The 
pottery  itself  was  nothing  less  than  Terra-Cotta.) 

There  was  one  room  in  the  monastery  which  had  a  curious 
effect  upon  Marguerite.  While  Laurence  was  away  collecting 
fuel  for  their  camp  she  had  wandered  into  the  ruins  once  again 
in  spite  of  his  request  that  she  should  not  do  so  in  his  absence, 
there  being  so  many  pitfalls  occasioned  by  the  tireless  digging  of 
the  treasure  hunters,  and  as  I  have  said  Marguerite's  sight  was 
extremely  defective.  Without  knowing  just  where  she  was, 
Marguerite  found  her  way  into  a  small  cell-like  room  or  end  of  a 
short  passage  way,  opening  into  the  chamber,  from  which  there 
was  an  entrance  to  the  church  in  the  south  arm  of  the  cross, 
which  had  formerly  been  a  window  or  a  niche.  Here  a  nameless 
terror  seized  upon  her  and  she  sent  forth  shriek  after  shriek 
which  brought  Laurence  running  to  her  rescue. 

' '  I  cannot  tell  why, ' '  she  explained,  ' '  but  I  felt  the  presence 
of  some  unknown  and  horrible  thing.  Thou  mayest  laugh  if 
thou  likest,  hubby.  I  am  as  brave  I  think  as  are  most  women, 
but  I  confess  that  I  was  very  much  afraid  of  this  unknown, 
unseen  presence.  More  afraid  than  I  remember  ever  to  have  been 
in  all  my  life  before.  I  will  never  again  go  into  that  hideous 
cell,  at  least  never  alone." 

But  it  chanced  differently  from  this,  and  twice  again  Mar- 
guerite blundered  into  this  same  room  and  with  precisely  the 
same  result,  and  it  was  only  by  the  horrible  fear  which  seized 
upon  her  there,  that  she  came  to  recognize  her  surroundings. 

Everywhere  beneath  and  around  these  buildings  were  to 

23 


354  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

be  seen  parts  of  human  skeletons.  Many  deep  and  dangerous 
holes  had  been  dug  in  and  near  the  ruins  and  it  was  not  safe  for 
Marguerite  to  go  about  without  a  companion  and  protector.  She 
did  not  venture  to  do  so  after  her  third  scare  in  the  narrow  room 
with  its  one  small  opening,  especially  as  her  terrified  screams 
had  brought  not  only  her  husband  to  her  rescue  but  two  Mexican 
strangers  as  well. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  day  of  their  first  coming  into  the 
ruins,  a  shepherd  had  drawn  their  attention  to  a  hole  of  some 
thirty  feet  in  depth.  This  proved  to  be  the  descent  into  a  vault 
which  had  some  time  previous  to  this  been  opened  by  a  well 
known  scientist,  and  which  had  been  filled  with  skeletons  small 
and  delicate  of  frame.  These  it  was  said,  had  been  exhibited  at 
the  Exposition  or  World's  Fair  in  Chicago  as  illustrating  the 
generally  accepted  theory  that  the  Aborigines  of  North  America 
were  of  very  small  porportions.  Upon  examination  later,  they 
found  that  it  had  been  the  custom  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  place 
certainly,  and  perhaps  of  all  that  race  and  people  to  which  they 
belonged,  to  bury  their  dead  of  different  ages  in  different  apart- 
ments of  their  sepulchral  vaults.  And  the  particular  one  which 
had  been  opened  by  this  scientist  had  been  filled  with  the  skeletons 
of  those  who  had  arrived  at  maturity,  but  who  had  not  yet  at- 
tained to  their  full  stature.  In  many  other  places  they  found 
skeletons  of  immense  size  much  above  the  average  stature  of  the 
nineteenth,  twentieth  century  American,  Indian  or  Mexican.  The 
shepherd  brought  up  out  of  this  despoiled  pit,  a  pair  of  cross 
bones  and  a  jaw  bone  of  perfect  shape.  The  teeth,  which 
were  perfect,  were  like  small  delicately-tinted  pearls.  Marguerite 
carefully  preserved  these  relics  for  a  time,  then  buried  them  and 
would  not  accept  gifts  of  bones  when  offered  to  her. 

The  tent  the  Jeromes  had  carried  with  them  was  large 
and  cumbersome  and  they  concluded  not  to  unstrap  it,  there  be- 
ing no  secure  place  in  which  to  pitch  it  here.  So,  as  the  sun  went 
down  each  day  they  too  went  to  rest.  After  the  two  had  retired 
upon  the  first  night  of  their  stay  among  the  ruins  Marguerite 
arose,  crying:  "The  Bells!  The  Bells."  For  she  had  been 
aroused  by  the  ringing  of  the  chimes.  Laurence  who  was  already 
fast  asleep,  had  heard  nothing.  The  two  kept  a  long  vigil,  but 
having  sounded  thrice,  the  chime  rang  no  more  that  night.  Mar- 
guerite declared,  however,  that  she  heard  the  soft  music  of  an 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  355 

aeolian  harp.  This  sound  continued  day  and  night,  but  attempt 
to  trace  it  as  she  might,  she  could  not  discover  the  place  from 
whence  it  had  its  source.  Laurence  declared  this  to  be  purely 
imaginary  upon  the  part  of  Marguerite,  but  a  few  days  later  he 
admitted  that  she  must  have  bewitched  him  as  he,  too,  could 
plainly  hear  the  mystic  music.  Then  followed  many  kinds  of 
music,  the  sound  of  many  voices  singing  and  a  chanting  of  the 
priests  all  of  which  sounded  very  realistic,  yet  which  they  were 
unable  to  trace  to  their  source.  They  had  spent  three  weeks  amid 
the  ruins  examining  them  and  wondering  over  them  and  their 
all  but  'lost'  history,  and  in  futile  attempts  to  trace  the  mysteri- 
ous music  that  went  on  by  day  and  by  night,  to  its  source,  when 
the  water  in  the  Lagoona  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  began  to  fail.  It 
had  long  been  unfit  to  drink  because  the  thousands  of  roving 
herds  of  sheep  had  been  permitted  to  drink  from  it. 

"That  water  should  keep  us  warm  at  least.  It  is  so  very 
nearly  'all  wool,'  "  remarked  Marguerite,  as  she  spat  out  a 
mouthful  of  what  she  declared  to  be  unfit  for  mortal  to  drink. 
"I  will  strain  and  boil  down  a  barrel  full  and  then  it  is  evident 
that  we  must  go  over  to  the  Gallinas  spring  for  water."  So  they 
broke  camp  one  morning  at  daybreak  for  it  was  their  delight  to 
get  'the  start  of  the  sun'  when  on  the  move.  Marguerite  won- 
dered how  she  had  lived  so  long  without  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
the  sun  rise  or  of  drinking  in  the  new  life  of  that  most  beautiful 
and  health-inspiring  hour. 

They  were  nearly  three  days  upon  the  road,  the  mew-els  dic- 
tating terms  and  stopping  at  the  approach  of  evening  in  the  most 
desolate  and  impossible  spots  imaginable  for  the  purpose  of  camp- 
ing for  the  night.  As  they  passed  slowly  along  they  saw  multi- 
tudes of  shadowy  forms  traveling  in  the  same  direction  as  them- 
selves, who  turned  to  pause  and  gaze  upon  them  evidently  as 
much  surprised  at  the  meeting  as  were  they.  The  second  day 
upon  the  road  they  camped  upon  a  bleak  and  desolate  spot,  with- 
out grass  or  fuel.  This  they  remembered  was  Christmas  Eve. 
They  made  a  scant  fire  that  evening  and  next  morning,  of  the  dry 
sagebrush,  and  the  animals  were  taken  a  half  mile  away  where 
there  was  a  scanty  forage. 

Before  resuming  their  journey  upon  the  following  morning, 


356  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

Laurence  determined  upon  greasing  the  wagon  and  had  the  mis- 
chance to  lose  a  wheel,  letting  the  wagon  down  upon  one  corner. 
It  took  a  long  time  to  right  it  and  during  that  time  Marguerite 
watched  the  never  ending  procession  of  indistinct  forms  passing 
and  repassing,  some  stopping  to  hold  their  hands  over  the  smok- 
ing embers  of  their  camp  fire,  or  to  inhale,  as  it  would  seem,  the 
grateful  perfume  of  Laurence's  pipe,  or  to  gaze  in  startled  won- 
der at  the  picture  the  group  made  upon  this  desert  spot— the 
half -overturned  wagon,  the  mules  grazing  nearby,  the  working 
handsome  elderly  man,  whose  blonde  face  was  flushed  with  the 
unaccustomed  exertion  he  was  making  to  right  his  wagon,  and  the 
beautiful  fair  faced  woman  who  watched  him  and  them  by  turns, 
dressed  in  the  latest  New  York  mode. 

Throughout  all  the  previous  day  they  had  heard  shouts  and 
cries,  with  the  continued  repetition  of  one  word  which  at  first 
they  mistook  for  "Hosanna,"  but  which  they  afterward  dis- 
tinguished as  "Hytanna."  This  morning  the  cry  was  the  same 
and  always  it  seemed  to  come  from  the  ground  beneath  their  feet, 
— a  dismal  stretch  of  sand.  "Hytanna!  Hytanna,"  was  shouted 
again  and  yet  again,  with  an  unceasing  prayerful  appeal  which 
went  to  Marguerite's  heart,  and  she  somehow  felt  that  the  ap- 
peal was  made  to  her  in  person.  She  was  much  puzzled,  as  she 
had  been  by  many  things  that  had  occurred  during  their  sojourn 
at  the  ruins  of  La  Gran  Quibira,  especially  by  her  interview  with 
San  Francisco,  and  the  consciousness  that  she  had  known  and 
loved  him  in  some  former  existence  of  which  she  was  conscious, 
but  of  which  she  remembered  little. 

"Hytanna,"  she  knew,  was  a  goddess  worshipped  by  the 
ancient  Aztecs,  and  believed  by  many  to  have  identical  with 
the  Serpent  Woman,  and  she  was  the  goddess  to  whom  they  ap- 
pealed for  succor  in  times  of  extreme  need  from  starvation  and 
from  thirst — the  goddess  of  Plenty,  but  why  should  these  spirits 
imprisoned  beneath  the  earth  (for  they  could  be  nothing  else) 
appeal  to  her  as  to  the  goddess  Hytanna?  Their  appeal  touched 
her  strangely,  and  she  promised  them  the  succor  they  re- 
quired, should  she  come  to  the  knowledge  of  what  they  asked  of 
her.  Laurence  'poohed,"  and  tried  to  quell  the  nervous  excite- 
ment into  which  the  whole  occurrence  had  thrown  the  sensitive 
Marguerite,  but  he  shuddered  and  a  dread  settled  upon  him 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  357 

which  would  not  be  overcome  although  it  was  to  him  inexplicable. 
For  he,  too,  heard  distinctly  the  persistent  cries  of:  "Hytanna 
Hytanna,  Hytanna,"  which  seemed  addressed  to  his  young  wife' 
And  it  was  as  if  they  hailed  the  approach  of  one  long  supplicated 
and  who  had  come  at  last. 

And  all  this  time  the  bands  of  music  and  choirs  of  voices 
kept  up  each  its  own  distinctive  music  in  that  strange  under- 
tone to  which  the  twain  had  become  accustomed. 


358  LA   GRAN   QUIBIBA 

CANTO  THE  FOURTEENTH. 
"FOOT-PRINTS  IN  THE  SAND/' 

As  they  journeyed  over  this  dreary  waste,  where  few  trees 
grew,  both  were  attracted  at  the  same  moment  to  some  footprints 
in  the  sand  where  it  would  seem  from  its  desolation,  the  foot  of 
man  had  never  before  trod.  The  footprints  were  at  furthest,  but 
a  few  hours  old,  and  were  those  of  some  Mexican  sheep  hearder 
who  had,  perhaps,  lost  his  way  and  who  it  would  seem  had  car- 
ried a  heavy  burden.  They  speculated  a  little  upon  the  circum- 
stance: "This  is  typical  of  our  lives.  We  come  from,  we  know 
not  whence ;  we  make  our  mark  upon  the  earth  perhaps  leave  the 
traces  of  our  footprints  behind  us;  then  depart,  we  know  not 
whither.  I  trust  that  the  poor  fellow  whose  foot-prints  these  are, 
is  not  hopelessly  lost.  Ah!"  This  exclamation  broke  from  Mar- 
guerite's lips  as  she  pointed  out  to  Laurence  two  huge,  gaunt 
grey  wolves  which  were  coming  from  the  draw  whence  the  foot- 
prints issued,  and  who  were  evidently  in  full  pursuit  of  their 
owner. 

"Hubby,  your  rifle.  Quick!  Quick,"  and  she  grasped  the 
first  article  within  her  reach  which  proved  to  be  a  miner's  pick, 
and  hurled  it  full  in  the  faces  of  the  approaching  brutes.  These 
turned  their  heads  for  a  moment,  as  if  in  doubt  whether  or  no  to 
leave  the  trail  they  were  now  upon  and  attack  this  new  prey,  but 
after  one  snarling  glance,  moved  swiftly  onward.  Laurence 
grasped  his  rifle  and  hastily  fired  its  contents  after  the  wolves. 
One  was  slightly  w^ounded  as  was  shown  by  its  angry  growl,  but 
he  only  halted  for  the  space  of  a  second  then  again  took  up  the 
scent  and  steadily  followed  the  footprints  in  the  sand,  or  the 
blood-stains  by  which  they  were  accompanied  which  had  escaped 
the  notice  of  the  near-sighted  Marguerite  and  to  which  Laur- 
ence had  not  hitherto  alluded. 

Marguerite  was  wild  with  fear  and  pity  for  the  poor  unfor- 
tunate thus  trailed  by  the  savage  beasts,  and  urged  Laurence  to 
turn  and  follow  the  trail  to  his  rescue.  But  Laurence  pointed  out 
that  it  was  impossible  to  overtake  him  in  time  to  render  him  any 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  359 

assistance,  and  that  it  was  almost  certain  that  the  herder  must 
have  reached  some  safe  retreat  long  ere  this.  The  wolves  were 
even  now  out  of  sight  and  Marguerite  was  obliged  to  be  content 
with  the  thought.  But  the  mysterious  footprints  in  the  sand  so 
troubled  her  that  she  urged  their  return  by  the  same  route.  This 
could  now  on]y  be  followed  by  their  own  trail.  The  foot  prints, 
the  tracks  of  mules  and  wheels  and  an  occasional  wolf  track,  were 
all  that  was  visible  to  show  that  some  mysterious  tragedy  had 
been  enacted,  which  will  always  remain  a  mystery  to  them  al- 
though some  one,  somewhere  would  be  reported  missing,  and  the 
victim,  perhaps,  be  accused  of  acts  now  that  he  had  disappeared, 
of  which  living,  he  would  never  have  been  found  guilty.  He  had 
gone — but  whither?  There  were  at  least  some  tears  shed  at  the 
untoward  fate  of  the  unknown,  for  Marguerite  Jerome's  heart 
sorrowed  over  the  dreadful  doom  she  had  pictured  for  him,  and 
over  their  own  utter  helplessness  in  rendering  him  any  assist- 
ance. 

That  day  too,  the  day  upon  which  they  had  beheld  the  tire- 
less wolves  upon  the  trail  of  the  unknown,  they  seemed  to  meet  a 
herald  and  trumpeters.  The  herald  was  reading  a  summons  of 
some  sort  and  when  this  was  ended,  appeared  to  be  calling  the  roll 
of  an  almost  endless  army.  No  one  however  responded  to  their 
names  and  indeed  it  did  not  appear  to  be  expected  of  them.  Here 
too  they  could  hear  the  tramp  of  horses'  feet,  for  the  herald  and 
his  attendants  were  mounted.  All  of  these  mysterious,  illy-de- 
fined sounds  could  have  but  one  meaning.  The  Ressurrection  had 
begun.  When? 

It  had  always  been  the  belief  of  Marguerite  that  if  this 
ressurrection  and  judgment  had  not  been  for  all  time,  it  must 
have  commenced  with  that  great  sacrifice  of  Him  who  taught 
that  ressrurrection  after  death.  And  she  thought  that  all 
now  passing  around  them  having,  as  it  would  seem,  nothing 
to  do  with  them,  but  confirmed  this  belief  without  adding  much 
of  importance  to  it 


360  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

CANTO  THE  FIFTEENTH. 

'  '  THE  JUDGEMENT. ' ' 

By  slow  degrees  the  Jeromes  reached  water  several  miles 
from  the  Gallinas  spring,  which  was  in  fact  near  the  eastern  slope 
of  the  Gallinas  mountains,  at  two  reservoirs  or  wet  weather  la- 
goons that  had  not  as  yet  been  exhausted ;  near  the  entrance  to 
the  canyon  which  gave  access  to  the  spring.  An  Indian  herder 
who  was  upon  his  way  homeward  from  the  Capitans  to  the  San- 
lias,  went  far  out  of  his  way  to  show  the  beautiful"  Senora  Ameri- 
cana ' '  where  the  water  was  to  be  found.  He  would notpermit  them 
to  halt  at  the  first  of  these  reservoirs,  where  later  they  found  that 
a  murder  had  but  recently  been  committed  and  the  body  of  the 
hapless  victim  sunk  in  the  water,  but  took  them  to  the  one  far- 
ther in  the  mountains  where  he  declared  the  water  was  clean. 
This  man  was  so  obliging  that  they  paid  him  well  and  sent  him 
on  his  homeward  way  rejoicing.  Breaking  the  ice  which  en- 
crusted the  surface  of  the  reservoir  which  seemed  not  to  have 
been  visited  of  late,  Laurence  watered  his  thirsty  mules,  which 
Marguerite  had  christened  Jock  and  Janet  in  honor  of  an  old 
Scotch  woman  with  whom  they  had  passed  a  day  upon  the  route. 

He  then  drove  to  the  east  some  five  hundred  yards  preferr- 
ing to  camp  within  the  thicket  of  pines  and  cedars  there,  than 
to  occupy  the  vacant  shanty  within  the  enclosure  at  the  water 
side. 

Here  Marguerite  set  to  work  to  replenish  their  larder  with 
bread  and  baked  beans  and  the  like,  that  she  might  not  be  com- 
pelled to  stop  for  long  upon  the  road  when  once  they  took  to  it 
again.  Here,  too,  she  washed  all  of  their  clothing  and  camp 
equipments,  wishing  as  she  said,  to  commence  the  new  year  in 
cleanliness  at  least.  And  here  in  the  open  air  by  the  side  of  the 
huge  camp  fire,  both  she  and  Laurence  took  their  accustomed 
bath.  No  one  was  near  during  the  night  at  least,  the  Mexican 
who  claimed  the  right  to  sell  the  water  living  at  the  reservoir  be- 
low the  spring  where  they  had  filled  their  water  barrel  years  be- 
fore upon  their  first  journey  to  this  part  of  the  country. 

Marguerite  had  grown  accustomed  to  the  various  kinds  of 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  361 

music  which  was  going  on  with  greater  or  less  distinctness  all 
of  the  time,  and  often  joined  her  own  voice  to  one  or  other  of 
what  she  called  the  "spirit  bands"  wondering  that  it  all  seemed 
so  natural  of  tone  with  nothing  of  that  awful  sepulchral  quality 
which  one  is  led  to  expect  from  a  ghostly  quarter. 

Theirs  were  not  the  only  ears  that  heard  the  music.  They 
were  visited  one  morning  by  the  Mexican  whom  Marguerite  face- 
tiously dubbed  their  "landlord,"  who  was  trying  to  sustain  a  sort 
of  conversation  with  Laurence  which  seemed  in  some  degree  satis- 
factory to  themselves  but  greatly  amused  Marguerite,  who  kept 
repeating  after  them :  "Mucho  Frio.  Mucho  Igre.  Muncho  Frio. 
Quant os  milles  for  Whitee  Oakee?  Quantos  milles  a  San  An- 
tonio, A  Socorro,  etc.  Mucho  Frio.  Muncho  Igre,"  which  was 
about  all  the  Mexican  of  which  Laurence  was  the  master,  and 
when  added  to  the  fact  that  he  always  insisted  upon  speaking  at 
the  very  top  of  his  powerful  voice  and  with  a  German-Scotch 
accent  of  broad  Irish  brogue,  was  ludicrous  in  the  extreme  to  the 
listener.  Tiring  with  poking  fun  at  her  husband,  Marguerite 
stationed  herself  upon  the  wagon  seat  at  the  other  side  of  the 
camp  fire,  and  began  humming  one  of  the  airs  of  the  mysterious 
music  which  was  going  on  about  them.  The  Mexican  started, 
and  turned  to  her  curiously,  whistling  softly  the  self-same  air, 
then  by  a  sign  questioned  her  as  to  the  air  she  was  singing. 

' '  La  Musico  Espirito, ' '  was  the  prompt  reply,  and  the  Mexi- 
can after  a  quick  nod  of  assent,  turned  hurriedly  and  hastened 
away,  crossing  himself  as  if  greatly  terrified,  nor  did  they  see  him 
afterward.  He  seemed  to  be  most  in  fear  of  Marguerite,  for  it 
was  believed  that  women  were  not  permitted  to  hear  this  spirit 
music.  , 

That  evening  they  retired  very  early,  sleeping  in  the  wagon, 
as  the  tent  they  had  brought  with  them  was  too  large  and  heavy 
to  be  pitched  by  one  person.  Marguerite  was  too  weary  to  sleep 
and  lay  awake  wondering  and  listening  as  usual  to  the  variety  of 
musical  sounds  which  came  from,  she  could  not  tell  whither.  The 
day  and  evening  were  intensely  cold,  and  as  is  usual  in  such  cases, 
intensely  still  as  well.  Nothing  had  as  yet  broken  in  upon  this 
stillness  but  the  continuous  strains  of  the  "Cantos  Espiritos. " 
Many  times  Marguerite  had  complained:  "All  this  is  of  the 
earth,  and  I  wish  I  might  hear  something  from  another  world. ' ' 
As  she  lay  there  listening  and  vaguely  wondering  at  the  strange. 


S62  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

ness  of  it  all,  there  resounded  the  strains  of  a  different  order  of 
music.  Never  on  earth  had  Marguerite  heard  anything  so  beauti- 
ful, so  melodious.  This  then  was  the  heavenly  music  she 
had  so  ardently  wished  to  hear.  It  came  from  the  water  side  and 
was  like  a  band  of  golden  harps  whose  strings  were  swept  by 
angel  fingers.  Marguerite  gave  a  little  cry  of  delight  and  sprang 
down  from  the  wagon.  But  a  chill  blast  swept  over  her  as  if 
pushing  her  backward  and  she  was  forced  to  creep  hurriedly  into 
the  wagon  in  fear  of  freezing.  There  she  lay  and  listened,  shed- 
ding tears  of  anger  and  disappointment  that  she  was  unable  to  go 
down  to  the  pool  where  something  inexplicable  seemed  to  be  going 
on.  It  was  not  possible  to  waken  her  husband  without  interrupt- 
ing or  losing  some  portion  of  the  mysterious  proceedings,  he  hav- 
ing sunk  into  a  deep  and  heavy  sleep.  ' 

The  strains  of  sweet  music,  which  were  yet  without  any 
defined  theme  appeared  to  be  a  summons  to  all,  to  silence  and  at- 
tention. Then  a  voice  sounded  in  command,  and  the  stillness 
which  had  settled  upon  all  was  broken  by  the  sound  of  one  of  the 
spirit  bands  and  of  many  marching  feet.  They  halted  before  the 
judgment  seat,  were  confronted  by  their  accusers  and  plead  each 
their  own  cause  through  one  who  acted  as  spokesman  for  the 
entire  band  or  family.  Not  one  articulate  word  could  she  dis- 
tinguish, but  by  movement  and  the  voices  she  seemed  to  under- 
stand how  the  verdict  tended.  Time  after  time  was  this  re- 
peated. Some  of  each  of  those  summoned  seemed  to  be  acquited 
while  others  were  doomed  to  some  punishment  which  caused  them 
to  murmur  and  to  protest,  and  shriek  and  wail  until  the  air  re- 
sounded with  the  confusion  of  shouts  of  joy  and  wails  of  de- 
spair commingled,  which  was  most  heartrending,  when  the  separa- 
tion of  the  good  from  the  condemned  came  about.  All  this  has 
been  described  before.  I  am  not  even  now  permitted  to  describe 
the  scene  then  enacted  at  the  water  side,  the  preliminary  judg- 
ment wherein  the  good  spirits  are  separated  from  the  bad,  and 
allotted  to  their  future  sphere  of  life,  some  journeying  upward 
to  another  planet  to  begin  a  new  life  under  more  auspicious  cir- 
cumstances, promoted  to  a  higher  form  of  existence  both  physical 
and  moral ;  others  doomed  to  remain  upon  the  earth  to  finish  their 
life  work  wherein  they  had  failed  owing  to  their  own  folly  or 
vices,  or  to  those  of  others,  which  prevented  them  from  fulfilling 
their  appointed  task,  without  which  they  were  permitted  to  go 
no  farther. 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  363 

The  miniature  lake  set  in  the  midst  of  the  mountain  canyon, 
fenced  around  by  rails  within  the  enclosure  a  log  cabin,  de- 
serted and  fireless  (the  scene  as  the  Jeromes  afterward  learned, 
of  a  recent  tragedy)  ;  the  camp  near  by  with  its  smoking,  smoul- 
dering fire  enveloped  by  the  thick  undergrowth,  the  solitary 
wagon  with  its  occupants  who  were  noiseless  and  perhaps  sleep- 
ing; the  mountain  tops  rising  abruptly  all  about  them  with  their 
rocks  and  trees  and  shrubbery  standing  out  in  bold  relief  in  the 
cold  light  of.  the  moon  which  was  at  its  full,  made  a  strangely 
beautiful  night  picture.  Not  a  sound  except  those  which  came 
from  the  great  tribunal  by  the  water  side  broke  the  intense  still- 
ness— not  the  rustling  of  a  leaf  nor  the  cry  of  a  night  bird,  or 
even  the  stealthy  tread  of  an  animal  broke  the  silence.  It  seemed 
as  if  all  nature  held  its  breath  and  listened  as  did  Marguerite,  to 
catch  the  meaning  of  the  mysterious  drama  that  was  being  en- 
acted there.  But  Marguerite  was  surprised  in  her  spying  by  the 
alarm  given  by  the  watcher,  which  seemed  to  be  a  parrot,  and 
which  called  out  suddenly:  "Somebody's  looking."  Her  eyes 
had  been  riveted  upon  the  car  which  bore  the  disembodied  souls 
of  those  who  had  been  promoted  to  another  sphere.  This  was 
drawn  by  beautiful  winged  females,  and  children  and  was  piloted 
by  the  figure  of  the  judge  which  tallied  with  the  descriptions  of 
the  Archangels.  In  spite  of  her  fright  at  being  detected  in  her 
eavesdropping,  Marguerite  observed  many  things  which  must 
have  escaped  the  notice  of  another  less  prone  to  take  note  and  to 
criticize  minor  points  of  all  they  saw.  First  she  said  to  herself : 
"That  figure  at  the  rear  of  the  car  is  that  of  my  little  brother 
Ernest  as  I  well  remember  him."  But  she  noted  that  while  his 
body  was  still  that  of  a  child  his  head  had  grown  massive  and 
upon  his  brow  sat  the  thoughtful  gravity  of  a  man  in  his  prime. 
The  face  of  the  winged  female  who  was  first  leader  upon  that  side 
of  the  car  was  indelibly  impressed  upon  her  mind.  This  face  was 
most  beautiful,  with  a  wierd  unearthly  sort  of  beauty ;  her  form 
was  of  a  mould  larger  beyond  the  figures  of  earth  born  woman- 
kind, and  was  clad  in  a  white  garment  which  trailed  its  sheer  tis- 
sue-like fabric  far  behind  her  upon  the  air,  and  which  emitted  a 
sharp  crackling  sound  at  her  slightest  movement,  as  if  it  were 
heavily  charged  with  electricity.  Her  abundance  of  waving  au- 
burn hair  flowing  backward  as  she  moved,  was  brushed  aside 
with  one  hand  and  Marguerite  saw  her  face  plainly  as  the  figure 


364  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

looked  downward  at  her,  laughing  merrily  that  she  had  gained  by 
her  strategy  a  glimpse  of  that  which  it  was  evident  from  the  corn- 
motion  the  alarm  had  raised,  she  was  not  intended  to  behold.  The 
face  was  stamped  with  eternal  youth  and  in  spite  of  its  beauty 
had  to  the  mind  of  Marguerite  an  uncanny  look.  That  which 
most  impressed  her  was  the  great  strength  expressed  by  the  large 
white  teeth  displayed  by  her  laugh,  and  in  every  movement  and 
action. 

The  figure  of  the  Archangel,  too,  and  his  every  feature  was 
impressed  upon  her  memory — his  massive,  square-cut  head,  his 
beardless  face,  upon  which  the  sternness  of  expression  was  tem- 
pered by  a  look  of  ineffable  sweetness,  his  kindly  yet  piercirg 
blue  eyes  with  their  amused  expression,  as  they  looked  down  into 
her  own  terrified  yet  defiant  orbs,  the  impressive  gesture  with 
which  he  pointed  upward  to  where  the  clouds  had  parted,  mak- 
ing, as  it  were,  a  passageway  for  the  train  which  he  led  into  what 
appeared  to  be  a  sea  of  radiance  beyond.  Even  his  gown,  of 
some  white  woolen  material  girdled  by  a  heavy  cord,  was  noted 
by  Marguerite.  What  seemed  strange  however  was  the  fact  that 
she  felt  certain  that  although  the  wings  which  sprouted  from 
both  the  shoulders  and  calves  of  those  who  propelled  the  car  upon 
which  were  piled  those  mysterious  cloud-enwrapped  intangible 
things  she  could  only  believe  to  be  the  disembodied  souls 
of  those  human  beings  who  had  been  on  trial  for  the  acts  com- 
mitted upon  the  earth,  might  form  a  part  of  themselves,  and  that 
these  might  be  merely  winged  spirits  of  the  air;  yet  those  which 
drooped  from  the  shoulders  of  the  great  Archangel,  (unused  for 
the  nonce)  were  detachable,  and  were  in  fact  a  mere  flying 
machine,  and  it  was  somehow  borne  in  upon  her  awakened  con- 
sciousness that  he  was  saving  his  own  strength  by  permitting 
the  bearers  of  the  car  to  bear  him  upward  as  well  so  far  as  they 
went  toward  his  own  destination,  which  was  farther  away  from 
the  earth.  Marguerite  would  have  questioned  the  Archangel,  but 
before  she  could  recover  sufficient  presence  of  mind  to  do  so,  the 
whole  train  had  vanished  and  the  clouds  had  closed  behind  them 
shutting  their  onward  path  entirely  from  her  view. 

Then  she  noticed  that  much  of  the  music  was  resumed  by  the 
invisible  choirs.  And  her  heart  went  out  to  them  in  pity  that 
through  some  untoward  act  of  each  they  had  been  denied  the 
much  coveted  rest  which  is  the  acme  of  all  human  hopes,  of  the 
Lethe  that  is  brought  by  death,  and  were  doomed  to  wander  tn 


A   MUSICAL,  MYSTERY  365 

and  fro  upon  the  earth  until  some  other  spirit  was  born  upon  it 
who  would  bring  their  own  unfulfilled  mission  to  a  successful 
issue  and  so  atone  for  their  own  negligence,  and  by  so  doing  re- 
lease them  from  the  bonds  with  which  this  unfinished  work  held 
them  fast  to  the  earth.  It  was  perhaps  a  whimsical  fancy,  but 
this  belief  in  the  torment  of  those  who  had  neglected  to  accom- 
plish that  particular  mission  which  had  been  assigned  to  them, 
or  for  which  purpose  they  had  been  brought  into  existence,  grew 
and  strengthened  upon  Marguerite  and  led  her  (in  fear  of  leav- 
ing her  own  work  upon  the  earth  undone)  to  brave  in  after  years 
many  dangers  before  which  her  timid  nature  must  have  shrunk, 
lest  at  that  day  of  summing-up  she  should  be  weighed  and 
found  wanting. 

It  was  the  custom  for  Laurence  to  make  the  coffee  for  their 
morning  meal,  and  then  call  Marguerite  to  share  it  with  him. 
Upon  the  morning  after  the  scene  of  the  ascension  had  been  wit- 
nessed by  Marguerite,  in  the  surreptitious  manner  I  have  de- 
scribed, descending  from  the  wagon  at  his  summons  to  breakfast, 
she  found  that  a  light  feathery  snow  covered  the  ground.  Stoop- 
ing she  lifted  handful  after  handful,  performed  her  morning  ab- 
lutions after  this  fashion,  then  went  forward  to  greet  her  hus- 
band who  was  just  lifting  the  steaming  coffee  pot  to  their  camp 
table,  placed  beside  the  roaring  fire.  Throughout  the  breakfast 
Laurence  gazed  at  his  wife  in  admiration  and  curiosity. 

"Why  little  girl,"  he  said:  "What  have  you  been  doing 
to  yourself?  You  are  more  beautiful  this  morning  than  I  have 
ever  seen  you.  Your  face  is  simply  radiant.  There  seems  to  be 
a  halo  about  it  that  I  have  never  seen  before." 

"No  wonder,"  was  the  smiling  reply.  "I  have  but  now 
brushed  it  with  the  down  from  angels'  wings."  Then  she  related 
to  him  the  adventure  of  the  preceding  night  and  they  speculated 
upon  its  meaning.  Laurence  was  skeptical  in  all  such  matters, 
yet  such  was  his  confidence  in  his  wife's  truthfulness,  that  lie 
never  questioned  the  fact  that  all  had  transpired  just  as  she  de- 
scribed. Besides  in  her  face  that  morning,  irradiated  as  he  had 
nover  before  beheld  it,  was  the  proof  that  she  had  indeed  been 
smiled  upon  by  angel  visitors. 


366  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

CANTO  THE  SIXTEENTH. 
"THE  SACRED  SUN  WOOD." 

The  Jeromes  had  now  no  habitation,  for  when  they  had  left 
their  last  abiding  place  they  had  not  intended  to  return  thither. 
As  they  had  hired  the  mewels  for  the  period  of  three  months  they 
now  decided  to  return  to  La  Gran  Quibira  remaining  as  long  as 
possible  (as  Marguerite  put  it  "between  waters,")  even  if  they 
were  compelled  to  depend  upon  this  distant  reservoir  for  their 
supply,  and  to  search  for  the  signs  which  marked  both  wa!^r  and 
treasure  that  had  been  described  to  her  by  Ytzlacotl. 

Returning  by  the  way  of  the  lagoona  of  Le  Monte  Solo, 
which  if  not  now  empty  would  yield  them  a  water  supply  much 
nearer  than  that  of  the  Gallinas  spring,  they  got  lost  as  is  cus- 
tomary in  this  curiously  formed  country  which  is  an  almost  end- 
less succession  of  hills  and  draws  whose  similarity  and  want 
of  distinctive  land  marks,  renders  it  almost  an  impossibility  to 
follow  any  set  course,  when  once  one  has  left  the  well  defined 
roads.  They  lost  their  way  among  the  intricate  windings  of  these 
hills.  And  near  the  close  of  an  afternoon  they  found  themselvr-s 
in  the  heart  of  what  Marguerite  with  her  aptitude  for  re-christen- 
ing every  separate  point  of  the  Universe  with  which  she  became 
acquainted,  at  once  called  "The  Sun  Wood,"  and  sometimes 
"The  Labyrinth"  from  the  fact  that  look  which  way  one  might 
along  the  lines  of  ancient  cedar  trees,  they  themselves  seemed  to 
be  in  the  center  from  which  there  branched  out  into  the  distance 
like  the  rays  radiating  from  the  sun ;  and  from  the  fact  that  their 
way  into  the  dense  heart  of  the  wood  was  an  easy  matter,  but  that 
the  way  out  of  it  seemed  blocked.  In  fact  they  at  last  found 
themselves  so  hemmed  in,  that  Laurence  was  compelled  to  hew  a 
pathway  out  of  this  strange  labyrinth. 

The  "Sun  Wood"  it  was. 

The  "Holy  of  Holies,"  the  center  of  the  Aztec  burial  place 
of  their  honored  dead,  who  by  their  upright  or  glorious  lives  in 
this  world  had  been  deemed  by  their  fellowmen  fitted  to  stand  in 
the  presence  of  the  great  sun  god  himself,  in  company  with  the 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  367 

great  Montezumas  by  whom  he  was  of  old  represented  upon  the 
earth. 

' '  But  what  had  become  of  these  ancient  dead,  of  their  bodies 
at  least?"  For  here  dig  as  they  might  there  seemed  to  be  only 
an  unfathomable  depth  of  sand,  unbroken  by  a  single  rock  so 
large  as  what  we  call  a  pebble,  except  in  the  exact  center  of  the 
wood  where  was  a  mass  of  huge  boulders  piled  high.  These  they 
had  not  time  to  examine  closely  enough  to  dislodge.  And  here  it 
was  that  Marguerite  saw  in  the  full  sunlight  the  vision  of  two 
mighty  warrior  kings  and  their  armies  contending  for  the  hidden 
spoils,  as  she  declared. 

They  marked  the  spot  as  well  as  possible  in  the  hope  of 
some  day  retracing  their  steps  to  this  point  and  searching  for 
those  spoils,  which  might  indeed  have  been  secreted  here  in  the 
olden  times. 

' '  What  had  become  of  the  innumerable  bodies  1 ' '  After  long 
thought  Marguerite  declared  it  to  be  her  belief  that  they  had 
been  removed  to  the  sacred  hill  of  La  Gran  Quibira,  which  was 
their  own  destination,  The  Hump  Of  The  Cibola,  (Buffalo).  And 
she  further  declared  it  to  be  her  belief  that  they  had  there  either 
been  cremated  as  the  ashes  among  the  broken  jars  would  indicate, 
or  been  buried  again  in  the  tombs  of  their  dead  Casiques.  For 
the  whole  of  La  Gran  Quibira  hill  proved  upon  close  examina- 
tion to  be  one  solid  mass  of  skeletons. 

Making  the  best  of  their  way  back  to  the  lagoona  as  a  new 
starting  point  they  met  with  a  Mexican  of  the  higher  class,  with 
whom  they  had  formed  a  friendship  when  last  at  La  Gran 
Quibira,  and  who  like  themselves  was  returning  thither  after  a 
trip  to  the  Rio,  to  satisfy  his  own  doubts  as  to  the  whereabouts 
of  the  buried  water  and  treasure.  Telling  him  they  would 
follow  him  upon  the  morrow  they  bade  him  adieu  and  went  into 
camp,  that  their  always  jaded  mules  might  have  a  rest.  It  was 
night  when  they  drew  up  on  the  hill  known  as  the  Monte  Solo, 
some  two  miles  from  the  lagoona,  and  which  was  the  nearest 
camping  ground  offering  both  grass  and  fuel.  As  they 
approached  the  hill  they  seemed  to  be  accompanied  upon  the 
right  hand  side  by  a  full  band  of  music  playing  an  inspiring  and 
as  they  felt  a  victorious  march;  but  upon  their  left  was  also  an 
accompanying  chorus  of  those  soul -terrifying  shrieks  they 


368  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

had  learned  to  associate  with  those  damned.  Between  the  two, 
they  made  their  camp  into  which  they  were  followed  shortly 
afterward  by  a  Mexican  boy  about  sixteen  years  of  age  whom 
they  had  met  a  short  time  before  in  company  with  a  wagoner  who 
had  encamped  much  nearer  to  the  lagoona.  This  boy  now  ac- 
costed them,  requesting  that  he  might  be  permitted  to  camp  in 
their  company.  Laurence  refused,  although  Marguerite  pro- 
tested, seeing  that  the  lad  appeared  to  be  afraid  to  camp  alone. 
But  Laurence  pointed  to  a  neighboring  clump  of  trees  and  said 
that  they  ' '  wished  to  be  alone. ' '  The  boy  went  over  to  the  place 
designated,  a  few  yards  distant,  and  lighted  his  fire,  while  Laur- 
ence went  some  distance  away  in  search  of  fuel  for  the  remain- 
der of  the  night,  and  for  the  morning.  Marguerite  rested  upon 
the  seat  which  had  been  taken  from  their  wagon  and  watched 
the  preparations  she  had  made  for  their  evening  meal.  She  was 
startled  by  the  sharp  click  of  a  gun-lock  directly  behind  her  head, 
and  as  she  cried  out  in  alarm  she  heard  the  patter  of  retreating 
footsteps.  When  Laurence  hurriedly  returned  at  her  cry,  and 
searched  the  surrounding  thicket  no  trace  of  their  late  guest 
could  be  found  and  his  camp  fire  had  been  deserted. 

Marguerite  was  too  much  alarmed  to  sleep  but  the  boy  did 
not  return  and  they  remained  over  this  day  also  in  their  present 
camp,  the  weather  proving  unpropitious  and  Laurence  wishing 
to  dig  beneath  a  huge  flat  rock  near  at  hand.  Removing  this 
rock  he  found  a  curious  formation.  When  the  rock  was  shoved 
to  one  side,  beneath  this  was  a  huge  boulder  which  rested  upon 
another  flat  rock  and  so  on,  the  two  alternating,  four  or  five  deep 
and  no  telling  how  much  farther  down  into  the  depth  of  the  earth, 
for  Laurence  wearied  of  the  search  and  abandoned  his  unfruitful 
work  at  the  depth  of  about  ten  feet  from  the  surface.  These 
rocks  were,  strange  to  say,  laid  with  the  regularity  described,  and 
in  a  bed  of  mortar  which  showed  skillful  handiwork.  It  was 
long  after  this  that  the  solution  to  the  mystery  of  this  strange 
formation  came  to  Marguerite  and  then  she  was  alone  and  in- 
capable through  physical  weakness  of  proving  the  correctness  of 
her  solution  to  the  problem. 

Then  they  crossed  the  mesa  by  a  route  which  had  been 
pointed  out  to  them  and  struck  the  regular  road  at  a  point 
marked  by  one  of  those  crosses  erected  to  indicate  the  spot  where 
some  poor  unfortunate  had  lost  his  life  by  accident  or  by  vio- 
lence. 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  369 

Reaching  the  foot  of  La  Gran  Quibira  hill  they  found  them- 
selves unable  to  mount  it  and  Laurence  climbed  the  hill  in  search 
of  his  Mexican  friend.  De  Santa  Ana  was  encamped  a  few 
yards  to  the  south  of  the  ruins  and  willingly  offered  the  services 
of  both  himself  and  his  two  young  mules  to  assist  them  to  the 
top  of  the  hill.  This  proved  to  be  a  pretty  severe  task  even  for 
their  youth  and  strength  but  with  a  "Ayo-h.  A-gee-ho,"  and 
a  "  Tiddy-a- whack, "  oft-repeated,  they  made  a  triumphal  as- 
cent and  found  a  delightful  camping  ground  near  to  Santa 
Ana's  own,  where  Laurence  at  once  began  to  construct  a  thick 
fence  of  brush  to  screen  them  from  the  winds,  and,  always  hun- 
gry in  this  out-of-door  life,  set  to  work  with  despatch  to  boil  the 
coffee.  Once  here  they  prowled  about  the  ruins  as  before,  made 
sport  of  Santa  Ana  and  his  "Mina,"  from  which  he  hoped  to 
extract  untold  wealth,  and,  by  some  mysterious  hocus-pocus, 
combine  the  water  with  it,  smiling  in  conscious  superiority  when 
Marguerite  ventured  to  suggest  that  it  would  be  impossible  to 
mine  with  any  degree  of  success  under  the  water.  It  delighted 
her  to  tease  the  hopeful  prospector  about  "The  Mina  De  Santa 
Ana, "  ' '  Le  Poso  De  Santa  Ana, ' '  wherein  was  not  to  be  found 
either  "Agua"  or  "Ora"  "Neuna  ne  otra,"  as  she  treated  her 
"Amigo  Mexicano,"  to  a  night  cap  of  hot  spiced  tea  before  bid- 
ding him  good  night. 


24 


370  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA. 

CANTO  THE  SEVENTEENTH. 

"A   SPRING  OP  LIVING  WATERS." 

On  the  sixteenth  day  of  January  two  old  men — brothers- 
uncovered  a  small  spring  of  water  near  the  foot  of  La  Gran 
Quibira  hill.  This  created  a  great  sensation  and  the  Ledington 
brothers  were  the  heroes  of  the  hour.  Santa  Ana  deserted  his 
"Mina"  at  once  and  returned  to  his  home  upon  the  Rio  Grande 
in  the  belief  that  luck  was  all  in  their  favor  and  against  himself. 
To  the  Jeromes  however  this  discovery  only  gave  hope.  The  fact 
that  this  tiny  spring  had  been  deliberately  sealed  up  with  a  curi- 
ous red  pigment  the  overflow,  if  any,  scattering  beneath  the  loose 
sand  around  the  spring,  made  them  yet  more  hopeful  that  the 
main  spring  existed  upon  the  hill  and  was  covered  in  like  manner, 
since  it  was  impossible  that  the  town  upon  the  hill  could,  as  the 
old  men  fondly  believed,  have  depended  upon  this  for  its  supply 
of  water.  They,  Laurence  and  Marguerite,  now  set  to  work  in 
earnest  to  find  the  signs  spoken  of  by  Ytzlacotl,  but  without  suc- 
cess. Then  they  moved  down  by  the  side  of  the  spring  or  at  least 
within  a  hundred  yards  or  so  of  the  Ledington  camp,  since  it  was 
impossible  for  them  to  depend  upon  their  own  team  to  haul  water 
up  the  steep  and  sandy  ascent.  Here  they  remained  for  some 
time,  much  against  the  wishes  of  Marguerite,  who  was  so  poor  a 
pedestrian  that  she  could  not  mount  the  Ihill  as  often  as  she 
wished.  They  were  upon  the  best  of  terms  with  the  two  old  men 
and  with  the  frequent  visitors  of  sheep  herders  and  tourists  who 
came  to  prospect  for  water  and  for  the  treasure,  too. 

There  is  no  created  thing  upon  this  earth  so  destructive  as 
the  average  American,  who  can  scarcely  look  at  anything  with- 
out attempting  to  pull  it  to  pieces.  So  to  prevent  the  total  de- 
struction of  the  grand  old  ruins  at  the  hands  of  these  nineteenth 
century  vandals,  Laurence  staked  off  the  ground  upon  which  the 
ruins  were  located  as  a  homestead  claim,  thereby  securing  the  en- 
mity of  the  treasure  seekers  and  of  the  old  men  at  the  spring  as 
well.  He  moved  upon  his  claim  at  once,  after  making  arrange- 
ments with  the  old  men  to  haul  their  supply  of  water.  With  the 
aid  of  a  Mexican  who  had  brought  their  mail  from  the  town 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  371 

where  they  had  lived  previous  to  their  coming  to  La  Gran  Qui- 
bira,  he  had  fenced  off  a  corral  of  some  dimensions,  and  within 
this  he  pitched  his  tent.  Here,  secure  from  observation  he  could 
prospect  the  ground  more  thoroughly  and  the  very  day  of  their 
removal  to  this  ground  he  discovered  the  stone  cross  which 
pointed  out  the  way  to  the  much  sought  for  water  and  relics. 

While  camping  with  Santa  Ana  and  his  party  and  after- 
ward near  the  spring  which  Marguerite  had  christened  "Living 
Waters"  in  due  form,  baptizing  it  with  its  own  waters  poured 
over  it  from  a  tiny  crucible  which  one  of  the  old  Ledingtons  said 
he  had  found  among  the  ruins,  and  which  a  certain  doctor  had 
assured  him  was  "A  wine  cup  used  by  the  medicine  men  of  the 
former  days  for  measuring  out  their  potions,"  and  who  looked 
shocked  as  she  raised  it  to  her  lips  and  drank  first  of  the  water 
from  the  newly  christened  spring.  ( This  learned  individual  like- 
wise insisted  that  the  curious  formation  of  the  ground  through- 
out the  entire  country  hereabouts  was  due  to  the  fact  that  a 
coal  mine  had  existed  beneath,  which  had  undoubtedly  burned 
out  and  fallen  in,  leaving  the  hills  and  hollows  as  described.  They 
were  indebted  to  the  same  individual  of  scientific  proclivities  for 
much  other  information  of  the  same  sort  and  value. 

But  as  I  had  commenced  to  relate  they  had  numerous  spirit- 
ualistic visitations,  to  which  no  one  else  was  treated,  both  while 
camping  near  Santa  Ana  and  the  Ledingtons.  These  were 
mostly  musical  exhibitions  and  many  by  unskilled  performers,  as 
it  would  seem.  But  some  of  the  simple  minor  melodies  sunk  deep 
into  the  heart  and  memory  of  Marguerite.  Then  there  were  the 
frequent  chantings  of  the  church  services  and  many  were  the 
ghostly  masses  to  which  they  listened  wondering  why  the  oft-de- 
scribed adjuncts  of  wierd  sepulchral  tones  and  ghostly  lights 
were  wanting.  It  would  seem  that  the  very  best  performances 
came  off  in  the  most  unpropitious  weather  when  it  was  quite 
impossible  for  them  to  make  their  way  with  any  degree  of  safety 
to  the  point  from  whence  the  sounds  came,  because  of  the  many 
deep  and  dangerous  holes  among  the  ruins;  and  besides  neither 
of  them  had  had  the  forethought  to  provide  clothing  suitable  for 
such  inclement  weather.  So  far  as  they  could  learn  all  other 
visitors  here  were  deaf  to  these  almost  continuous  sounds,  al- 
though many  declared  that  they  had  heard  of  them  from  the 
Mexicans  and  Indians,  who  professed  to  have  heard  them.  The 


372  LA   GRAN   QUIBIBA 

priest  from  the  parish  of  Manzano,  declared  that  he  did  not 
doubt  the  story,  at  which  the  old  men  scouted,  for  more  than  one 
of  his  own  parish  had  confessed  to  have  interviewed  the  devil  in 
this  form  at  this  place.  One  morning  they  were  awakened  by  a 
full  band  of  brass  instruments  which  appeared  to  be  heading 
the  return  from  a  long  and  wearisome  march.  A  large  army 
or  concourse  of  people  for  the  tramp  of  their  footsteps  lagged 
from  seeming  weariness.  But  before  they  could  rouse  themselves 
and  look  out  the  whole  procession  had  gone  behind  an  interven- 
ing hill  which  hid  it  from  their  view  and  by  the  time  Laurence 
had  dressed  himself  hastily  and  followed  in  its  wake,  all  was 
silent  as  the  grave. 

Marguerite  had  frequently  expressed  a  wish  that  she  might 
not  only  hear  but  see  and  converse  with  a  bona  fide  ghost.  One 
morning  she  awoke  from  a  troubled  sleep  with  a  start  and  there 
bending  above  Laurence,  but  looking  at  herself,  she  saw  a  most 
beautiful  Indian  woman,  for  as  any  Spanish  sefiorita.  Her 
form,  which  was  visible  only  so  far  as  the  waist,  her  lower  limbs 
being  hidden,  as  it  were,  by  some  dark  and  indistinguishable 
mass,  was  magnificent  in  its  proportions.  She  was  clad  in  but  one 
garment  which  revealed  her  perfect  form  and  which  had  been 
of  sheer  white  but  now  was  yellowed  and  discolored.  One  per- 
fectly moulded  hand  held  this  together  upon  her  bosom,  her  pur- 
plish black  hair  fell  over  one  bared  shoulder  in  rich  and  waving 
luxuriance.  Her  face  was  of  that  perfect  oval  our  great- 
est painters  have  delighted  to  portray,  tinted  with  a  pale  olive, 
from  which  her  eyes  looked  out  with  an  expression  of  repressed 
suffering  in  their  dark  depths  which  struck  to  the  heart  of  Mar- 
guerite, who,  however,  wakened  suddenly  from  her  sleep  by  the 
vision,  was  afraid  and  called:  "The  ghost!  The  ghost,"  so 
loudly  that  she  awakened  her  sleeping  husband  and  her  own  an- 
ger that  her  foolish  fears  had  driven  away  the  apparition  for 
whose  coming  she  had  so  wished. 

"So  they  burned  women  in  those  days  of  the  holy  saints," 
she  said  angrily.  "Well,  this  woman  died  like  a  'brick'  at  all 
events.  I  am  very  proud  of  her.  If  I  were  a  painter  I  should 
strive  for  a  life  time  to  delineate  that  perfect  face  with  its  ex- 
pression of  pain  repressed.  I  can  never  forget  that  set,  defiant 
smile,  nor  that  cold  resolute  look  in  those  magnificent  dark  he- 
roic eyes.  But  why  is  it,  hubby,  that  in  all  this  I  myself  seem  to 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  373 

be  a  part.  It  stirs  me  strangely  as  something  that  I  have  known, 
yet  forgotten." 

"  It  is  all  but  the  outgrowth  of  a  vivid  imagination, ' '  was  the 
reply,  but  somehow  it  did  not  satisfy  Marguerite. 

The  Jeromes  laughed  much  at  the  companies  of  treasure 
seekers  who  had  been  upon  the  ground  at  the  time  of  their  own 
arrival.  There  were  at  one  time  two  representatives  of  the  very 
families  in  which  the  secret  of  the  buried  treasure  was  held.  But 
that  these  were  not  the  two  to  whose  keeping  that  secret  had 
been  entrusted  in  this  generation,  was  evident.  There  was,  be- 
side the  four  workmen  by  whom  they  were  accompanied,  a 
catholic  priest.  The  tradition  was  that  the  bell,  the  water  and 
the  treasure  were  buried  in  three  separate  places,  each  of  which, 
however,  was  indicated  by  the  location  of  the  others,  and  it  was 
most  amusing  to  hear  the  three  heads  of  the  unfruitful  expedition 
wrangling  after  each  day's  unsuccessful  efforts  to  find  anything. 
The  priest  would  say:  "You  claim  to  know  where  the  cross 
stood.  Show  me  the  cross  and  I  will  show  you  the  bell." 

Then  Senor  A—  would  retort  with :  ' '  Show  me  the  bell  and  I 
will  show  you  the  water. ' '  And  in  like  manner  Senor  B —  would 
declare  that  if  they  would  but  fulfill  their  promises  and  produce 
the  cross  and  water  and  the  bell  he  would  straightway  point  out 
the  treasure  as  he  had  agreed  to  do. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  they  found  neither  the  one  nor  the 
other;  for  had  they  done  so  this  romance  must  have  ended  here. 

But  Laurence  and  Marguerite  Jerome  found  the  stone  cross 
within  a  few  minutes  after  they  began  their  search,  and  from  the 
measurements  and  the  abandoned  work  of  the  party  in  question 
they  found  the  clue  to  the  whole  mystery,  and  they  found,  too, 
the  exact  spot  described  by  Ytzlacotl  from  which  the  stone  cross 
had  been  removed  by  his  ancestor  of  old  and  where  its  former 
pedestal  yet  stood. 

All  people  who  came  here  to  dig  for  the  treasure  seemed  to 
come  under  some  confusing  spell  which  Marguerite  called  "La 
Gran  Quibira  craze."  They  each  and  every  one  had  certain  set 
rules  to  guide  them  in  their  search  yet  in  their  actual  work  they 
invariably  ignored  these  and  acted  upon  some  unknown  influence. 
For  instance,  they  would  measure  carefully  a  certain  distance 
from  their  given  point,  being  most  careful  to  preserve  a  certain 
direction  and  exactitude  of  measurement.  Arrived  at  the  exact 


374  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

point  they  sought,  they  would  look  about  them  and  thinking  that 
the  outlook  there  was  most  unpromising  they  would  after  a  con- 
sultation upon  the  subject  settle  upon  some  point  a  few  hundred 
feet  or  yards  distant,  as  the  case  might  be,  and  dig  at  that  point 
instead  of  the  one  of  their  measurement,  and  as  Marguerite 
shrewdly  observed,  "Had  they  been  correct  in  their  supposition 
that  the  treasure  sought  was  at  the  point  to  which  their  measure- 
ment led  them,  they  might  as  well  have  dug  as  many  hundreds 
of  miles  away,  for  all  hope  there  was  of  finding  the  hidden  treas- 
ure." 

She  determined  to  dig  only  upon  the  precise  spot  where  Ytz- 
lacotl  had  said  the  treasure  was  to  be  found.  But  Laurence 
seemed  possessed  of  La  Gran  Quibira  craze  as  well,  for  he  insisted 
upon  digging  at  a  point  alongside  of  the  one  indicated  by  the 
cross.  What  seemed  odd  was  the  fact  that  the  party  mentioned, 
which  was  accompanied  by  the  one-armed  priest,  had  in  making 
their  measurements  passed  within  a  few  yards  of  the  cross, 
which  stood  in  plain  sight,  yet  none  of  them  saw  it.  Marguerite 
could  only  explain  this  by  the  fact  that  they  were  under  this 
strange  spell  and  were  not  intended  to  find  the  buried  treasures 
of  water,  etc.  This  was  perhaps  as  well,  for  it  was  not  long  be- 
fore they  had  reason  to  bel-ieve  that  their  own  every  movement 
was  closely  watched,  and  that  nothing  they  might  find  here  could 
be  carried  away  with  safety. 

Where  the  priest's  party  had  dug  they  found  underground 
walls  and  arches  which  it  was  evident  that  the  treasure  seekers 
had  not  noticed.  Entering  these  Laurence  found  many  things 
that  were  puzzling,  if  not  altogether  profitable  at  the  time. 


A  MUSICAL,  MYSTERY  375 

CANTO  THE  EIGHTEENTH. 
"THE  LIFE  BEYOND  THE  GRAVE." 

In  the  ruins  was  a  room  or  vault  which  had  been  cleared  of 
debris.  The  only  entrance  to  this  was  through  the  top.  Mar- 
guerite pointed  out  that  this  masonry  was  of  a  different  construc- 
tion and  seemed  to  ante-date  that  upon  the  surface  of  the  ground, 
she  declared  it  to  be  her  belief  that  the  city  upon  the  surface  had 
been  built  upon  a  subterranean  city  whose  walls  had  been  utilized 
as  foundations  and  many  of  whose  rooms,  as  storage  vaults,  and 
prison  cells  and  dungeons. 

In  this  particular  room  whose  walls  did  not,  like  the  walls  of 
the  town  above  exceed  two  feet  in  thickness,  they  found  the  skele- 
ton of  an  infant  less  than  one  year  old  as  would  appear  from  the 
frail  bones  which  crumbled  at  the  touch.  This  skeleton  was  rest- 
ing upon  a  flat  rock  (one  of  the  many  metata,  or  stones  upon 
which  their  flour  was  and  is  to  this  day  ground  by  these  people 
and  their  descendants).  This  metal  was  raised  upon  four  blocks 
of  stone,  like  an  altar  and  beneath  was  a  handful  of  charcoal. 
And  beside  the  small  skeleton  lay  the  inevitable  grinder  which 
here  is  mostly  found  in  the  shape  of  a  paddle  to  a  canoe  or  rather 
the  blade  to  an  oar.  A  hole  had  been  broken  through  one  of  the 
walls  of  this  vault  at  its  base,  into  what  was  evidently  another 
apartment  and  here  they  found  the  skeleton  of  a  woman  of  im- 
mense size  and  proportions,  who  seemed  to  have  met  sudden 
death  while  in  the  act  of  escaping  from  her  prison  cell,  since  her 
bones  were  half  in  and  half  out  of  the  room  and  beneath  the 
broken  wall.  The  finding  of  these  skeletons  gave  rise  to  a  horri- 
ble fiction,  of  a  mother  who  had  slain  her  infant  hundreds  of 
years  before  and  being  caught  and  slain  in  the  act  of  escaping, 
the  murder  had  come  to  light  only  after  a  lapse  of  centuries. 

Marguerite  laughed  at  this  for  already  her  quick  eye  had 
become  accustomed  to  detect  the  true  from  the  false,  that  is  the 
line  which  separated  the  ancient  from  modern  innovation.  And 
she  thought  it  much  more  probable  that  the  present  arrangement 
of  the  skeletons  at  least  was  due  to  the  persons  who  had  cleared 
the  room  of  its  debris ;  perhaps  the  same  hands  which  had  erected 


376  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

a  room  a  few  feet  square  for  a  shelter  near  what  she  called: 
"Stover's  Wind  Well,"  and  which  the  "knowing  ones"  pointed 
out  as  a  modern  Indian  dwelling,  priding  themselves  as  it  were 
upon  the  fact  that  the  work  was  so  much  inferior  to  that  of  the 
ancients,  which  indeed  was  very  apparent,  the  walls  being  laid 
up  without  any  sort  of  mortar.  And  how  she  laughed  when  a 
party  of  scientific  searchers  carefully  collected  and  preserved 
some  corn-cobs  they  found  at  the  Santa  Ana  camp  and 
showed  with  pride  and  wide-eyed  wonder  at  their  wonderful  state 
of  preservation  after  more  than  two-hundred  years;  and  which 
she  knew  had  been  stripped  of  their  grain  by  Santa  Ana's 
mules  about  two  weeks  before  this  exhibit. 

The  puzzling  noises  went  on  as  before  and  continued  to  re- 
main as  inexplicable  to  them.  Marguerite  argued  that  they  were 
permitted  to  hear  them  because  they  had  something  to  reveal, 
and  because  they  heard  them  where  others  did  not,  it  was  possible 
for  them  to  obey  the  call.  This  tallied  with  the  story  they  heard 
afterward,  that  it  was  only  possible  for  one  person  of  each  gen- 
eration to  penetrate  the  mystery  and  discover  the  hidden 
treasures. 

"Then  I  am  that  one  in  my  generation,"  said  Marguerite, 
for  that  it  was  she  who  was  the  medium  was  conceded  by  Laur- 
ence, and  that  this  person  was  to  be  a  woman  was  the  tradition 
of  the  Indians  which  accounted  for  three  distinct  and  separate 
attacks  made,  or  rather  as  it  would  seem  meditated  against  her 
life.  For  beside  the  event  upon  the  Monte  Solo,  she  had  twice 
since  heard  that  ominous  'click'  of  a  gun-lock  in  close  proximity 
to  her  and  once  had  seen  the  fire-light  flash  upon  the  barrel  of  a 
rifle  aimed  at  her  and  once  seen  the  hastily-retreating  figures  of 
a  man  and  boy  whom  she  had  as  it  were  surprised  in  the  very 
act  of  firing  upon  her.  But  so  greatly  was  her  interest  deepened 
in  this  strange  mystery  that  was  about  her,  that  although  terrified 
for  the  moment  at  these  cowardly  attacks,  she  soon  forgot  or  ig- 
nored them  in  that  interest  in  the  scenes  passing  before  her,  and 
the  desire  to  ferret  it  out  to  a  correct  understanding  grew  to 
be  almost  a  mania  with  her. 

Then  it  was  that  she  began  to  realize  she  was  leading 
a  strange  dual  existence,  which  began  indeed  with  her  meeting 
with  the  friar  whom  she  had  called  "Francisco,"  and  whom 
she  now  understood  was  none  other  than  Saint  Francis  himself. 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  377 

That  she  had  been  the  "Mauri"  of  his  youthful  remembrance 
she  was  convinced.  She  had  a  vague  remembrance  of  wandering 
in  his  company  through  flowering  vineyards,  plucking  and  feast- 
ing upon  the  rich  clusters  of  grapes,  listening  to  that  "Old,  old 
story,"  which  is  older  than  the  world  itself,  yet  which  but  gains 
in  sweetness  from  its  eternal  repetition.  She  knew  too  that  she 
had  been  well  pleased  and  loved  him  too,  but  with  that  reluctance 
she  had  always  felt  at  surrendering  herself,  had  driven  him  from 
her  side  to  wander  in  unknown  lands,  striving  in  the  distance  to 
win  forgetfulness  of  the  pain  at  his  heart  by  weary  vigils  and 
self-inflicted  bodily  pains.  She  thought  with  a  pitying  pain  at 
her  own  heart  "in  vain,"  for  this  great  love  had  lived  beyond  the 
grave  and  was  as  fresh  today  as  in  the  olden  time.  And  she  felt 
that  she  was  just  as  reluctant  now  as  then  to  surrender  herself 
to  him.  It  was  when  convinced  of  this  that  he  ceased  to  come  to 
her  as  she  wandered  off  alone  leaving  Laurence  to  his  endless  and 
(as  she  thought)  insane  digging.  Yet  in  all  her  interviews  with 
San  Francisco  she  had  learned  but  little  concerning  what  she 
most  wished  to  know— the  life  beyond  the  grave.  For  it  seemed 
to  her  that  of  this  he  was  almost  as  ignorant  as  herself,  and  the 
only  conclusion  to  which  she  could  come  was  that  the  leader  of 
any  great  movement,  religious  at  least,  was  doomed  to  remain 
upon  the  earth  until  the  last  of  their  followers  were  gathered 
together. 

The  thought  and  conviction  made  her  heart  sink  as  she  re- 
membered the  mourning  voice  of  Him  whom  she  heard  plead  with 
such  earnest  prayerful  pathos,  and  whom  she  had  whispered  to 
herself  not  daring  to  call  the  thought  aloud:  "Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth, Himself,"  whose  voice  had  appealed  to  her  as  those  of  the 
unseen  worshippers  of  Hytanna  had  done ;  convincing  her  that 
in  some  manner  as  yet  unexplained,  it  was  possible  for  Him  to 
secure  eternal  rest  through  her  and  through  her  alone. 
[END  OP  ACT  iv.] 


378  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 


THE   INTERLUDE. 

A   RETROSPECT.— "THE    CITY    CALLED    BEAUTIFUL." 

The  night  was  far  spent  when  the  long  train  reached  the  foot 
of  the  hill  upon  whose  summit  rested  the  sacred  city  which  was 
its  destination,  and  which  surrounded  by  verdure,  gleamed  in 
the  moonlight  like  a  huge  pearl  set  with  emeralds.  So  great  was 
this  throng,  mostly  pedestrian,  that  it  seemed  composed  of  an 
entire  nation,  yet  they  were  but  the  helpless  of  that  nation.  For 
they  were  the  women,  the  sick  and  wounded,  the  very  old  and 
the  very  young  with  their  numberless  attendants  who  were  being 
removed  to  this  last  and  most  secure  retreat,  under  the  safe  escort 
of  their  warrior  king,Hermernehildo,  who  with  his  troops  was  in 
haste  to  bring  the  journey  to  an  end  that  he  might  hurry  with 
them  to  the  far  south  where  the  war  was  still  raging  like  a  fierce 
and  tireless  tempest  that  swept  with  destructive  force,  blasting  all 
things  that  opposed  or  impeded  its  progress. 

A  few  miles  back  they  had  rested  for  a  time  from  their 
weary  march  within  the  very  heart  of  the  great  sun  wood  from 
which  the  manes  of  their  forefathers  had  been  already  removed 
to  the  precincts  of  their  sacred  city  Culhaucan,  "Where  moth 
could  not  corrupt  nor  thieves  break  through  and  steal. ' '  For  the 
city  was  defended  by  wall  within  wall  until  it  must  prove  impreg- 
nable to  aught  but  the  heavenly  host  of  the  sun  god  himself,  in 
whose  safe  keeping  they  were  about  to  give  those  most  dear  to 
their  hearts  while  with  their  might  and  strength  of  arm  they 
would  guard  the  outposts  of  this  retreat  whose  very  existence  was 
suspected  even  by  but  few. 

In  the  great  sun  wood  no  telltale  fire  had  been  built.  The 
immense  company  had  been  refreshed  only  by  the  period  of  rest, 
by  a  morsel  of  bread  and  a  draught  of  water,  bestowed  and  re- 
ceived in  the  deepest  silence.  And  there,  scouts  had  been  sent 
back  and  onward  to  every  opening  in  the  almost  impassible  moun- 
tains. 

The  long  train  of  slaves  who  bore  the  burden  of  the  vast 


EXTRACTING  JUICES  FROM  THE  MAGUEY  IN  MEXICO. 

— [Courtesy   of   The    Pictorial   American. 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  379 

wealth  of  the  Aztec  nation  were  now  sent  to  the  front  of  the 
throng  that  it  might  be  the  better  guarded  from  their  own 
treachery,  (for  when  since  the  beginning  of  the  hoarding  of 
riches  has  there  been  a  time  of  which  it  could  not  with  truth  be 
said:  "Every  man  has  his  price?") 

Here  the  sacred  fire  had  been  displayed  at  their  sunset  devo- 
tions, but  cautiously  veiled  lest  other  eyes  than  those  of  its  wor- 
shippers might  be  observing  their  movements,  by  stealth.  And 
from  this  point  all  except  the  priests  and  the  guard  went  forward 
blind-fold ;  for  the  approach  to  the  sacred  city  was,  and  was  yet 
to  be  kept,  a  secret  from  all,  for  experience  had  taught  them  that 
the  enemy  most  to  be  dreaded  is  ' '  The  traitor  within  the  camp. ' ' 

They  had  circled  about,  and  the  final  approach  to  the  sacred 
city  was  made  from  the  east,  bearing  from  thence  to  the  north 
from  which  side  the  ascent  to  the  top  of  the  sacred  hill  alone  was 
practicable. 

Once  within  the  gates  of  the  lofty  outer  wall,  all  knelt,  and 
when  the  bandages  were  removed  from  the  eyes  which  they  had 
blindfolded  the  whole  city  was  revealed  to  their  astonished  eyes. 

Like  an  island  from  the  Green  Sea  rose  the  sacred  hill,  en- 
crusted from  base  to  summit  with  beautiful  buildings  of  snowy 
whiteness  which  gleamed  and  glistened  in  the  light  of  the  wan- 
ing moon.  And  these  were  surrounded  by  fruit-bearing  and 
flowering  trees  interspersed  with  vines,  verdure  and  bloom  of  the 
rarest  and  most  beautiful  description,  set  upon  a  green  sward 
swept  and  garnished  and  free  from  a  single  fallen  leaf. 

A  low  murmur  which  would  have  broken  into  a  wild  cry 
of  triumphant  joy  and  admiration  but  for  the  strict  orders  that 
had  been  issued,  broke  from  the  lips  of  all  and  died  away  in 
a  long-drawn  sigh  of  unutterable  relief  that  the  secure  haven 
of  rest  had  been  safely  reached  at  last. 

Then  all  arose  as  if  possessed  of  but  one  body  and  the  ascent 
was  begun  after  the  following  order.  King  Hermernehildo  and 
his  royal  guard  dismounted,  and  stationed  themselves  upon 
either  side  of  the  way  through  which  the  train  must  pass.  The 
palanquins,  (see  Prescott's  History  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico), 
which  had  borne  the  Queen  Marahquirita,  and  the  royal  family 
which  was  composed  beside  the  royal  pair  of  the  queen's  twin 
sister  also  named  "Marahquirita,"  (the  name  the  Aztec  people 
had  given  to  their  queens,  and  to  those  also  who  by  right  of  in- 


LA   GRAN   QUTBIRA 

heritance  were  by  any  chance  likely  to  become  their  ruler,)  and 
the  two  little  children,  the  son  and  daughter  of  the  royal  pair; 
together  with  the  ladies  of  the  Court  and  their  female  attendants, 
discharged  their  loads,  and  these  preceded  the  train  to  the  great 
temple  which  crested  the  summit  of  the  hill  like  a  jewelled  crown, 
the  fairest  the  most  beautiful  building  of  them  all. 

First  Queen  Marahquirita,  who  was  High  Priestess  as  well, 
and  her  seventy  virgins  climbed  unsandalled  the  stairway  which 
led  up  to  the  first  terrace,  and  went  forward  appearing  upon 
the  upper  terrace  at  the  entrance  to  the  temple  itself,  having 
bathed  in  the  sacred  lake  and  changed  their  garments  for  their 
priestly  robes  of  office,  and  armed  themselves  with  certain  imple- 
ments of  holy  warfare  before  the  train  was  in  marching  order, 
had  taken  their  station  as  was  the  custom  and  duty  of  their  ex- 
alted office,  to  await  and  guard  its  approach. 

First  in  order  of  march  came  King  Hermernehildo  and  his 
royal  guards,  followed  by  a  band  of  picked  warriors.  These 
paused  upon  the  upper  terrace  at  the  foot  of  the  temple  stair- 
case, and  opening  formed  into  line  upon  either  side  of  the  ap- 
proach, through  which  the  almost  endless  train  of  the  treasure- 
bearers  weighed  down  with  their  burden,  the  riches  of  their  na- 
tion, passed  in  slow  defile  barefoot  and  bare-headed  as  were  the 
entire  company  of  women  and  wounded  warriors,  the  sick  and 
the  old  and  little  children  who  followed  and  who  were  guarded 
closely  in  the  rear  by  the  remainder  of  Hermernehildo 's  troops. 

Even  Queen  Marahquirita 's  face,  usually  as  beautiful  and 
cold  as  chiseled  marble,  lighted  a  little  and  her  proud  dark  eyes 
flashed  with  a  momentary  fire  at  the  scene  of  the  approach  of  this 
endless  train  as  it  climbed  flight  after  flight  of  the  marble  steps, 
and  crossed  the  velvety  lawns  of  the  terraces  and  along  the  in- 
tersecting paths  which,  too,  were  paved  with  polished  marble. 
For  if  these  were  but  the  weak  and  helpless  of  her  nation,  how 
numberless,  how  invincible  must  be  that  nation  in  its  entirety. 
When  the  treasure  bearers  had  reached  her  side,  the  Queen  and 
High  Priestess  placed  herself  at  their  head  and  herself  led  the 
way  to  the  secret  subterranean  vaults  of  the  great  temple.  While 
the  half  of  her  armed  vestals  formed  to  guard  their  rear,  and 
the  second  half  held  the  following  multitudes  in  check,  for  the 
safe  storage  of  the  treasure  was  the  first  duty  to  be  performed. 

The  treasure  bearers  deposited  their  precious  burdens  at  the 


A   MUSICAL   MYSTERY  881 

*oot  of  the  great  staircase  which  led  to  the  entrance  to  the  tem- 
ple, and  retired  to  the  rear  while  their  burdens  were  taken  up 
anew  by  the  one  hundred  giant  mutes  belonging  to  the  sacred 
edifice  who  came  and  went  bearing  the  untold  riches  into  its 
sacred  and  secret  precincts,  known  as  the  great  treasure  vaults, 
whose  location  it  was  whispered  was  a  secret  to  all  save  the  High 
Priestess  herself. 

So  long  now  had  the  necessity  for  silent  watchfulness  existed 
among  this  people  that  even  the  youngest  child  there  stood 
motionless  as  a  statue,  mutely  attentive,  as  this  formal  receiving 
of  the  treasured  hoards  of  the  whole  nation  went  on.  It  was 
noted  with  a  feeling  akin  to  terror  which  deepened  into  a  fore- 
boding awe  that  the  eyes  of  the  mutes  held  an  expression  of 
horror  and  of  appeal  as  they  cast  quick  uneasy  glances  upon  the 
multitude  each  time  they  came  forward  to  laden  themselves  anew 
with  the  spoils  of  centuries  of  peaceful  industry  and  of  victori- 
ous warfare,  none  of  which  could  benefit  them  in  their  hopeless, 
maimed  captivity.  The  wistful,  terrified  yet  mute  appeal  touched 
the  hearts  of  all,  yet  they  were  ignorant  as  to  its  meaning,  and, 
alike,  were  the  helpless  and  unquestioning  slaves  to  Marahquirita 
and  to  the  Sun  God  whose  will  she  represented  and  carried  out. 
At  length  the  mutes  were  ladened  with  the  last  load  and  disap- 
peared as  before;  but  although  the  great  assembly  waited  long 
and  expectantly,  they  did  not  return,  and  the  thought  gained 
ground  that  never  again  would  they  return  to  the  light  of  the 
sun.  Again  a  shudder  ran  through  the  crowd,  which  found  ex- 
pression in  a  stifled  groan,  when  at  length  Marahquirita  and  her 
armed  priestesses  came  forward  alone,  the  Queens '  beautiful  face 
set  in  an  expression  of  stern  resolution,  her  sword  laid  aside,  but 
with  a  spot  of  telltale  blood  upon  her  white  robe,  while  her  hand 
toyed  with  a  movement  which  seemed  meant  to  attract  the  atten- 
tion of  the  assemblied  multitudes,  with  a  golden  key  that  hung 
from  her  neck  and  rested  upon  her  heart.  And  it  was  forever 
left  in  doubt  whether  with  her  own  hand,  she,  as  the  instrument 
of  their  god,  had  slain  the  giant  hundred  and  so  guarded  the 
secret  of  the  entrance  to  the  treasure  vaults,  or  had  left  them 
hopeless  prisoners  there  to  guard  them  in  person.  Color  was 
given  to  the  latter  less  horrible  belief  however  by  the  sending 
each  day  of  stores  of  food  down  to  the  vaults  where  the  treasure 
was  heaped  up  in  the  unused  rooms.  But  the  terror  deepened 
as  time  went  on,  and  it  was  observed  that  one  by  one  the  porters 


3^2  LA   GRAN   QUIBIBA 

of  the  vast  temple  disappeared  also  and  the  old  time  story  was 
revived  that  the  secrets  of  the  temple  were  vested  in  the  High 
Priestess  alone  and  were  guarded  by  dead  men  who  told  no  tales. 

The  treasure  safely  stored  away,  the  religious  ceremonies 
began.  These  were  conducted  by  Marahquirita  in  person  and  it 
seemed  auspicious  that  these  were  timed  by  accident  to  commence 
just  as  the  sun  broke  above  the  mountain  tops,  flooding  the  beau- 
tiful hillside  and  the  fair  white  temple  by  which  it  was  crowned 
with  a  golden  glory,  which  seemed  to  their  hopeful  gaze  more 
dazzling  than  was  his  wonted  light. 

Nothing  could  be  more  beautiful  than  the  valley  of  Aztlan 
at  this  time,  nestled  among  the  mountain  tops,  its  broad  ex- 
panse dotted  here  and  there  with  those  of  the  Seven  Cities  Of 
The  Cibola  which  rested  upon  its  bosom  like  white  and  glistening 
islets  upon  the  breast  of  a  sea  of  verdant  green.  Three  of  these 
great  cities  guarded  the  mountain  fastnesses  and  from  thence 
issued  hourly  with  unceasing  watchfulness,  the  priestly  guards 
and  warriors.  For  this  sacred  valley  of  Aztlan  had  been  devoted 
from  time  immemorial  to  their  honored  dead,  and  the  sacred  of- 
fices' of  these;  the  highest  order  of  their  priesthood  who 
had  it  in  charge.  And  here  were  trained  the  pride  of  the  Monte- 
zumian  chivalry  who,  combining  religious  zeal  with  perfection  of 
skill  and  strength,  (for  none  were  admitted  here  but  they  who 
were  without  blemish,)  were  invincible. 

Each  of  these  great  cities  were  dedicated  to  one  or  other  of 
the  seven  great  gods  of  the  Aztec  race  or  nation,  and  all  of  its 
temples  were  dedicated  to  its  presiding  genius,  yet  all  were  con- 
solidated as  it  were  under  one  great  government,  ruled  by  one 
head.  The  Sun  in  the  heavens  but  upon  the  earth  by  "She,"  the 
Serpent  Woman  from  whom  mankind  had  sprung,  and  to  whom 
he  owed  all  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  who  controlled  his 
destinies,  and  who  was  among  all  other  gods  the  chosen  umpire. 
Among  the  Aztecs  this  goddess  was  known  by  the  name  of  Hy- 
tanna  but  more  frequently  by  that  of  Marahquirita. 

The  most  powerful  of  all  of  these  Seven  Cities  of  the  Cibola 
crowned  the  foothills  at  the  west  and  was  dedicated  to  the  ex- 
clusive worship  of  Huetzalpecotl ,  the  invincible  God  of  War, 
and  in  the  great  temple  upon  its  topmost  heights  to  his  skill  and 
cunning  and  might.  The  approach  to  this  was  from  the  valley 
by  means  of  a  serpentine  pathway  whose  windings  traversed 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  383 

many  miles  of  a  narrow,  rocky  canyon  and  ended  in  a  coil  about 
the  base  of  the  great  temple  itself.  The  temple  was  a  vast  pyram- 
idal structure  more  gloomy  and  of  more  massive  proportions  than 
either  of  the  other  great  temples  of  the  Cibola;  for  no  matter  to 
what  other  god  they  had  especially  devoted  themselves,  all  were 
alike  the  slaves  of  Huetzlapocotl,  his  sworn  soldiers  and  priests, 
and  perhaps  his  intended  victims.  The  serpentine  roadway 
which  was  its  approach  and  which  can  now  be  followed  along  its 
sinuous  windings  for  fully  twenty  miles,  and  is  now  known 
as  Canyon  Cosino,  or  Twisting  Canyon,  was  paved  with  huge 
boulders  whose  rounded  surfaces  had  been  worn  smooth  and  slip- 
pery from  the  continued  trampling  of  myriads  of  unsandaled 
feet  for  many  ages  past,  and  it  was  whispered,  with  what  cer- 
tainty I  know  not,  that  of  those  who  slipped  and  fell  by  the  way 
none  were  ever  seen  again.  And  beautiful  and  spacious  as  was 
this  great  temple  of  the  God  of  War,  more  beautiful  and  more 
spacious  still  was  the  temple  upon  the  central  hill,  the  hump  of 
the  Buffalo,  around  which  clustered  the  dwellings  of  the  priests 
living  and  dead,  pure  white  and  ornamented  with  unique  designs 
historic  and  allegoric,  wherein  beauty  was  sought  rather  than 
truth,  for  this  itself  was  the  City  Called  Beautiful,  to  which 
the  treasures  of  the  nation,  both  of  the  living  and  of  the  dead 
had  been  borne  for  safe  keeping. 

"Beautiful"?  Why  it  answered  to  the  Christian's  descrip- 
tion of  the  new  Jerusalem,  the  walls,  the  paved  roadways,  the 
beds  of  the  streams  whose  pure  waters  flooded  through  the  streets 
from  east  to  west  the  entire  length  of  the  hill ;  all,  like  the  build- 
ings themselves  of  white  rockwork  and  stucco,  were  of  the 
snowy  glistening  whiteness  of  alabaster  or  jasper.  There  was  a 
giant  wrall  many  feet  in  thickness  around  the  entire  valley,  and 
within,  each  city  had  its  particular  portion  of  ground  walled  off, 
from  the  gates  of  which  a  paved  roadway  led  to  the  central  city. 
This,  as  has  been  said,  was  built  upon  a  hill  around  the  base  of 
which  run  a  high  wall  upon  each  of  the  four  sides,  but  now  that  the 
times  were  more  troublesome  than  had  ever  before  been  known, 
all  of  these  were  closed  excepting  that  upon  the  north.  Within 
this  wall  was  a  broad  road  paved  with  polished  white  flagstones 
and  bordered  upon  either  side  with  a  broad  band  of  greensward. 
And  from  this  the  three  terraces  arose,  tier  upon  tier,  walled 
about  by  the  same  white  stone  and  around  which  ran  another 
wall  beautifully  graven  and  ornamented,  and  each  in  itself  was 


384  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

almost  impregnable ;  for  the  marble  stepped  ascent  to  each  was 
barred  by  heavy  gates  and  guarded  by  the  many  priest-soldiers 
both  male  and  female,  whose  right  it  was  to  officiate  in  this  most 
holy  of  holies.  The  ascent  to  each,  were  all  of  them  zigzag  or 
serpentine  in  their  windings,  (as  indeed  were  all  the  roadways 
which  led  to  Culhaucan),  for  it  was  never  by  direct  approach 
that  the  Aztecs  came  near  to  their  gods.  Each  terrace  was 
planted  with  trees  and  shrubs  and  flowering  plants  from  among 
the  rarest  and  most  beautiful  varieties,  many  of  which  had  been 
imported  from  distant  parts  of  the  country,  and  from  among 
this  flowering  forest  rose  the  myriads  of  buildings  of  all  dimen- 
sions, the  dwellings  of  the  priests  and  the  tombs  wherein  the 
living  offered  up  their  prayers  for  their  honored  and  beloved 
dead,  and  propitiatory  offerings  to  that  especial  god  or  god- 
dess upon  whose  kind  interposition  they  relied  for  the  favor  of 
that  Great  Spirit  who  ruleth  all. 

Upon  the  upper  terrace  within  the  inner  wall  were  two 
beautiful  miniature  lakes  whose  bottoms  were  white  and  glisten- 
ing like  all  else  here  and  strewn  with  golden  sands.  Upon  these 
sacred  lakes  and  along  the  streamlets  which  ran  from  one  side 
to  the  other  floated  the  stately  white  swans,  sacred  to  the 
Goddess  Hytanna,  with  her  haughty  grace.  The  streams  wid- 
ened and  separated,  surrounding,  as  it  were,  the  great  temple 
which  rested  upon  a  hillock,  which  rose  to  a  far  greater  height 
than  the  remainder  of  the  ground.  The  temple  was  approached 
only  by  the  draw-bridges  which  spanned  the  streams  and  which 
were  never  lowered  except  when  some  great  ceremony  of  public 
import  such  as  the  reception,  demanded  it.  And  this  had  not 
happened  before,  this  being  the  first  time  that  any  outsiders 
had  been  admitted  within  its  sacred  precincts.  When  these 
drawbridges  were  crossed,  the  temple  was  approached  by  a 
winding  pathway  which  wound  round  and  round  it  like  a  snail 
and  step  by  step  upward  in  a  grand  winding  staircase  until 
the  upper  tier  of  the  pyramid  was  reached.  To  the  lower  stories 
there  was  no  outside  entrance.  These  were  to  be  reached  only 
from  the  nave  of  the  temple  itself  and  were  entirely  devoted  to 
the  secret  devotions  of  the  virgin  priests  who  also  made  their 
home  among  these  unknown  chambers.  The  upper  story  was 
finished  off  as  one  grand  audience  chamber.  Both  without  and 
within  the  building  this  room  was  surrounded  by  a  row  of 
carved  pillars  that  upheld  the  massive  roof,  in  the  center  of 


A   MUSICAL   MYSTERY  385 

which  was  a  large  circular  opening  from  which  other  pointed 
openings  verged,  forming  a  huge  sunflower  through  which  the 
rays  of  the  sun  penetrated,  falling  with  greater  or  less  intensity 
upon  a  facsimile  in  burnished  gold  that  formed  the  immense 
altar,  in  the  center  of  which  burned  the  sacred  fire.  No  horrible 
images  here  represented  the  god  whom  they  worshipped.  But 
behind  the  altar  rose  the  wonderfully  wrought  throne-like  chair 
of  purest  gold  from  its  carven  dais  of  the  same  precious  metal. 
And  in  this,  the  judgment  seat  of  the  great,  the  nameless  god, 
who  ruled  all  other  gods.  She  who  was  His  representative  among 
them  seated  herself  upon  such  occasions  as  she  was  called  upon 
to  assume  His  prerogative  of  bestowing  or  of  taking  the  life  of 
one  of  His  creatures,  who  had  been  duly  tried  and  condemned 
by  the  other  priesthood,  and  who  by  right  of  birth  or  office  or 
by  any  right  whatever  could  claim  an  appeal  to  this  the  highest 
tribunal. 

Each  of  the  vast  throng  we  have  described  had  cleansed 
and  purified  themselves  in  the  waters  of  the  sacred  streams  and 
had  cast  aside  their  travel-stained  garments  before  beginning 
the  ascent  to  the  temple  itself.  Now  they  once  more  fell  into 
line,  nude  except  for  the  snow-white  cloth  which  bound  and 
girded  their  loins.  As  they  circled  round  and  round  the  altar 
with  its  rays,  guarded  by  its  attendant  priestesses,  the  little 
children  were  thrust  to  the  front;  then  came  the  maidens,  and 
the  youths  who  were  yet  too  young  to  enter  the  lists  as  warriors, 
but  who  were  sent  hither  to  learn  the  art  of  war  from  the 
soldier-priests,  that  never  might  the  Aztec  army  wane  for  trained 
leaders  for  its  countless  of  thousands  of  troops.  Then  came  the 
aged,  many  of  whom  were  children  for  the  second  time,  and 
were  carefully  watched  and  tended  as  such  by  all;  and  in  the 
rear,  forming  the  van-guard,  were  the  matrons  with  their  babes 
in  their  arms,  while  Hermernehildo  and  his  warriors  surrounded 
all  with  their  protecting  presence. 

The  incense  was  burned,  the  chant  repeated,  the  religious 
hymns  of  praise  and  of  prayer  were  sung,  and  the  solenn  dances 
trodden  amid  a  hush  as  of  the  grave;  the  auguries  repeated  by 
the  sonorous  voice  of  Marahquirita  herself  from  out  the  midst 
of  the  smoke  of  the  incenses  burned  by  her  priestesses.  These 
public  rites  concluded,  Marahquirita  the  stern  and  resolute 
high-priestess  was  once  more  transformed  into  the  sweet  and 
gracious  wife  and  mother,  and  with  the  Princess  Marahquirita, 


386  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

and  her  little  ones  joined  Hermernehildo,  who  was  impatient  to 
be  off  for  the  wars  again. 

The  palace  reserved  for  the  royal  family  and  their  court, 
was  situated  at  the  extreme  west  end  of  the  topmost  terrace, 
yet  still  between  the  sacred  lakes,  and  bounded  by  the  sacred 
streams,  within  what  was  looked  upon  as  the  most  sacred  pre- 
cincts, safe  from  intrusion  from  all  who  were  not  especially 
called  within  its  hallowed  walls. 

Here  for  the  space  of  three  days  the  royal  couple  held 
Council  and  Court,  prior  to  the  departure  of  Hemernehiido. 
The  palace  was  a  large  square-built  edifice,  pure  white  without 
as  was  all  other  of  the  buildings  of  the  Sacred  City,  but  within 
it  was  ornamented  with  white  and  blue  and  gold.  The  palace 
formed  a  hollow  square,  surrounding  a  central  inner  court 
which  was  the  council  chamber  as  well.  Within  this  court  the 
throne  had  been  erected  close  beside  the  fountain  which  splashed 
and  bubbled  without  ceasing,  through  the  eyes  and  mouths  and 
nostrils  of  the  hydra-headed,  collossal  form  of  the  god  who 
ruled  the  waters.  Here  all  secret  conclaves  were  held,  for  here 
alone  could  absolute  secrecy  be  assured.  There  was  nothing  here 
to  screen  the  form  of  a  spy,  and  the  court  was  surrounded  upon 
all  sides  by  a  wide  close  corridor,  guarded  its  full  length  by 
chosen  members  of  the  Council  itself,  Hermernehildo,  himself, 
not  disdaining  to  take  his  share  in  the  eternal  watchfulness  that 
was  observed. 

Here  now  assembled  day  after  day  and  night  after  night, 
the  royal  household,  the  Court  and  councilors  in  solemn  con- 
sultation, settling  beyond  dispute  many  weighty  affairs  of  state, 
for  Hermernehildo  and  his  warriors  might  be  long  detained  by 
the  wars,  (and  this  too  was  hinted  at  in  the  provisions  made  by 
the  newly-enacted  laws),  might  never  more  return  to  Culhaucan 
to  claim  his  own. 

Hermernehildo  was  yet  young  and  possessed  the  undis- 
ciplined impulsiveness  of  youth.  He  asserted  his  royal  will  and 
authority  without  reserve.  Through  all  Marahquirita  sat  cold 
and  motionless  as  a  statue  of  marble,  only  rousing  into  action 
when  necessity  required  her  to  do  so,  yielding  graceful  assent 
to  the  decisions  of  her  hot-headed  lord,  waiving  them  aside  but 
once  and  that  when  he  declared  that  he  would  leave  his  queenly 
spouse  and  well-beloved  family  under  the  especial  protection  of 
his  trusted  friend  Ytzlacotl. 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  387 

Then  indeed  Marahquirita  roused  herself  suddenly  as  if  she 
had  felt  the  stinging  fang  of  an  adder.  A  quick  flush  shot 
athwart  the  strange  pallor  of  her  beautiful  face,  and  retreating 
left  the  chill  whiteness  of  snow  or  of  death  upon  it.  She  stooped 
and  rested  her  slender  right  hand  upon  the  heads  of  her  little 
children  who  played  upon  the  dais  at  her  feet,  for  such  was  this 
queen  and  priestess  mother's  watchfulness  and  care  of  her  own 
offspring  that  never  for  a  moment  did  they  leave  her  watchful 
presence.  She  kissed  the  forehead  of  her  twin-sister,  wTho  it  was 
said  was  dearer  to  her  than  all  the  world  beside,  and  who  inno- 
cently ignorant  as  was  the  babes  themselves  of  all  matters  of 
state,  yawned  and  slept  alternately  throughout  the  lengthy 
councils  which  possessed  not  the  slightest  interest  for  her;  then 
she  rose  with  haughty  grace  and  said :  ' '  Our  country  has  been 
lost  to  us.  We  fight  now  for  our  religion  and  for  our  liberty. 
Hermernehildo  hath  need  of  every  strong  arm  in  his  nation,  to 
battle  for  his  rights  and  for  the  safety  of  his  weak  dependents. 
We  have  no  use  for  the  able-bodied  here.  Let  Ytzlacotl  join  his 
king  in  the  battle  for  liberty.  With  Marahquirita  at  the  head, 
no  harm  can  befall  Culhaucan." 

But  Hermernehildo,  urged  to  do  so  by  a  glance  from 
Ytzlacotl,  insisted,  and  Marahquirita  offered  no  further  word  of 
remonstrance;  although  her  lip  quivered  and  her  eyes  flashed 
in  resentful  anger  and  she  bit  her  lip  lest  she  should  be  tempted 
to  assert  her  own  prerogative  as  queen  in  her  own  right,  and 
high-priestess  of  her  nation,  and  not  that  wifely  obedience  which 
she  had  schooled  herself  to  observe  upon  all  public  occasions. 
But  it  was  observed  that  she  took  Hermernehildo  aside  and  spoke 
with  him  earnestly,  and  that  although  he  sneered  and  made 
light  of  her  words  he  still  obeyed  her,  and  Ytzlacotl  was  asked 
to  retire  and  to  absent  himself  from  the  secret  councils,  as  affairs 
of  the  greatest  moment  to  the  community  were  to  be  discussed, 
and  Ytzlacotl  was  after  all  but  an  interloper  and  because  of 
his  taint  of  blood  being  by  birth  half  a  Spaniard,  had  no  right 
to  be  admitted  to  the  Grand  Council  at  all.  And  it  was  always 
noticed  that  when  Marahquirita  chose  to  assert  her  authority, 
which  indeed  was  hers  by  right,  she  was  obeyed  even  by  the 
impatient  Hermernehildo  who  worshipped  rather  than  loved  his 
stately  spouse.  So  Ytzlacotl  was  left  to  protect  his  loved-ones 
when  Hermernehildo  and  his  warriors  left  for  the  front;  but 
was  by  Marahquirita  barred  from  the  Conclave. 


088  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

The  royal  sisters,  Marahquirita  and  Marahquirita,  watched 
the  departure  of  the  troops  from  the  topmost  height  of  the 
great  temple.  Nothing  could  so  demonstrate  the  theory  of  dis- 
tinctive individuality  in  a  greater  degree  than  did  the  appear- 
ance of  these  royal  twins,  whose  features  and  forms  were 
moulded  in  perfect  imitation  the  one  of  the  other.  So  exactly 
alike  were  they  that  it  was  said  that  the  royal  nurses  were 
obliged  to  mark  the  one  who  had  entered  the  world  first  by  a 
short  half-hour  and  so  gained  the  right  of  precedence,  and  was 
known  as  the  future  queen  and  high-priestess  of  her  nation. 
They  formed  the  models  for  a  beautiful  picture  of  a  group  of 
statuary  as  they  stood  watching  the  departure  of  the  royal 
troops  which  wound  in  stealthy  silence  around  the  base  of  the 
hill  and  through  the  windings  of  the  draws  toward  the  west 
and  upward  along  the  serpentine  roadway  to  the  Temple  of 
Huetzopocotl,  where  their  last  religious  rites,  celebrated  by  many 
of  them  for  the  last  time,  in  this  their  sacred  valley  of  Azt'an 
or  indeed  upon  the  fair  earth  itself,  were  yet  to  be  gone  through 
and  their  last  offerings  to  that  god  made.  There  was  no  sound 
of  drum  or  martial  music  as  the  vast  concourse  took  its  onward 
way.  Only  the  muffled  tread  of  the  army  which  was  suppressed 
but  not  entirely  hushed,  came  with  measured  thud  to  their  ears. 
The  twin  Marahquiritas  were  as  I  have  said,  as  like  as  if  cast 
in  the  selfsame  mould.  Every  line  and  curve  of  form  and  feature 
seemed  precisely  the  same.  But  there  the  likeness  ended.  The 
lithe,  willowy  form  of  the  queen  was  erect  and  stately,  its  every 
movement  reflecting  the  haughty  pride  and  cold  reserve  of  its 
owner;  while  that  of  the  princess  possessed  the  quick  and 
graceful  abandon  of  the  fawn  in  its  every  unstudied  attitude. 
There  was  a  marble-like  pallor  upon  the  oval  face  of  the  queen, 
relieved  only  by  the  scarlet  of  her  lips  and  the  changeful  tints 
of  her  somber  brown  eyes,  which  in  her  most  joyous  moments 
held  that  wonderful  golden  light  so  rarely  seen,  then  deepened 
into  midnight  blackness  in  her  stormy  moods;  while  the  same 
oval  of  her  sister's  face  flushed  and  paled  with  every  passing 
emotion  but  never  lost  its  radiance,  and  the  golden  lights  in  her 
soft  brown  eyes  were  never  darkened  but  lent  a  softened  bril- 
liancy to  her  every  expression,  which  made  her  the  most  spark- 
ling, the  most  charming  object  that  the  sun  shone  upon.  The 
queen's  waving  masses  of  dark-brown  hair  in  whose  meshes  the 
sunshine  appeared  to  have  become  entangled,  and  which  in  the 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  389 

shadow  deepened  as  did  her  eyes  into  that  purplish  black 
so  rarely  beautiful,  was  braided  and  wound  round  and  round 
her  perfectly  moulded  head  set  proudly  upon  her  slender  neck, 
in  a  coronet  upon  which  gleamed  the  jeweled  diadem,  the  insignia 
of  her  exalted  rank ;  while  that  of  the  princess,  braided  too,  fell 
in  two  long  strands  down  her  back,  from  which  innumerable 
tiny  rebellious  curls  were  continually  breaking  loose  and  falling 
into  her  laughing  eyes.  Even  the  voice  of  the  one  was  sonorous 
in  its  sweet  yet  stern  intonations,  while  that  of  the  other  rippled 
and  bubbled  like  the  merry  tinkling  of  sweet  toned  bells.  Their 
garments  were  the  same;  a  long  and  trailing  robe  of  purest 
white  which  left  both  neck  and  faultless  arms  revealed.  That 
of  the  queen  was  devoid  of  all  ornament,  falling  in  statuesque 
folds  without  a  break  from  shoulder  to  the  golden  sandals  with 
which  her  feet  were  shod,  while  at  the  back  from  her  shoulders 
fell  the  gorgeous  feather  mantle,  another  insignia  of  her  rank, 
carelessly  trailing  the  earth.  But  the  robe  of  the  princess, 
fashioned  after  the  same  manner  and  from  the  same  material, 
was  caught  up  and  looped  here  and  there,  after  a  pretty  caprice 
of  her  own,  with  jewels  of  every  hue,  which  studded  her  beau- 
tiful hair  and  encircled  her  beautiful  neck  and  arms,  and  hung 
pendant  too  from  her  shell-like  ears,  adding  a  color  and  bril- 
liancy to  her  bright  face  well-nigh  dazzling  the  beholder.  At 
the  feet  of  the  sisters  sported  the  two  little  children  of  Marah- 
quirita  and  Hermernehildo,  who  ever  and  anon  imitated  their 
elders  and  kept  solemn  watch  upon  the  movements  of  the  re- 
treating army. 

The  love  of  these  two  like  that  of  most  who  come  to  us 
born,  as  it  were,  of  one  thought,  was  greater  than  that  of  which 
most  human  beings  are  capable.  The  timid,  gentle,  child-like 
nature  of  the  princess  clung  to  the  queen  with  that  idolatrous 
worship  such  natures  give  to  the  stronger  upon  which  they 
lean  with  that  abandon  of  self  which  the  stronger  never  feels; 
while  the  love  of  the  queen  for  her  sister  was  more  like  that  of 
a  fond,  indulgent  mother.  She  started  now  as  they  watched  the 
sinuous  ascent  of  the  royal  troops  nearing  the  top  of  the  hill 
of  Huetzlapoeotl,  and  frowned  in  stern  displeasure  as  she  said: 
' '  I  forbade  them  to  sound  the  tocsin  or  to  toll  the  hour  upon  the 
great  clock.  How  dare  the  priests  of  Huetzlapoeotl  disobey  my 
royal  mandate?  It  bodes  but  ill  to  my  authority  that  in  the 


390  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

beginning  my  commands  are  slighted.    But  why  dost  thou  weep, 
my  sister?     Tears  are  not  for  such  as  thou."  , 

"It  is  for  Hermernehildo  who  may  never  return  to  us 
again,"  sobbed  the  Princess  Marahquirita. 

The  queen  looked  long  and  earnestly  into  the  sweet,  tear- 
bedewed  face  which  she  had  taken  between  her  two  hands,  in 
thoughtful  silence;  then  she  said:  "It  were  a  pity  that  I  could 
not  have  held  my  state  alone  and  have  left  him  free  to  wed." 
But  here  her  gaze  rested  upon  her  two  children,  a  dull  red 
flush  passed  over  her  face;  her  eyes  darkened  with  impatient 
anger  as  she  pushed  her  sister  gently  aside  and  said  in  that  icy 
tone  which  was  one  of  her  peculiarities:  "They  have  entered 
the  temple  of  Huetzalpocotl.  Let  us  now  to  our  own  devotions." 
And  turning  she  led  the  way  toward  the  altar,  the  princess 
following  with  the  children  who  were  her  especial  charge  and 
delight. 

Queen  Marahquirita  again  frowned  darkly,  as  among  the 
women  and  children  and  the  aged  and  disabled,  she  beheld  the 
handsome  face  and  the  lithe  and  gracefully  erect  figure  of 
Ytzlacotl,  for  the  traitor  stood  among  the  assembled  worshippers, 
over  whose  heads,  bowed  to  receive  it,  she  spread  her  hands  in 
blessing  as  she  strode  toward  the  altar.  Her  eyes  sent  into  his 
very  soul  a  glance  which  told  him  that  she  had  guessed  the 
secret  motive  that  actuated  him  in  deserting  his  wonted  post 
as  counselor  and  friend  of  the  king,  for  that  of  protector  and 
would-be  counselor  to  the  exiles  in  Culhaucan.  "Forewarned 
is  fore-armed,"  and  never  again  did  the  wily  queen  give  sign 
that  she  suspected  him.  He  was  her  husband's  chosen  friend, 
and  to  her  husband  she  had  vowed  obedience,  and  however  re- 
bellious she  might  be  that  thus  her  rights  of  birth  had  been 
usurped,  she  rendered  it  him  in  appearance  at  least. 

Time  passed  on;  and  days  and  months  lengthened  into 
years,  yet  Hermernehildo  returned  not.  The  youths  grew  to 
manhood  and  went  their  way  to  join  the  warrior  host.  For 
although  there  was  yet  no  special  war,  the  times  were  always 
troublous,  for  the  Aztecs,  conquered  in  name  alone,  contested 
hotly  every  step  by  which  the  greedy  Spaniards  advanced.  The 
children  of  Culhaucan  grew  into  youths  who  were  in  training  for 
future  need.  Marahquirita  never  permitted  these  to  quit  the 
sacred  precincts  of  the  city,  where  she  herself  carefully  watched 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  391 

over  their  training  by  the  grumbling  priests  of  Huetzalpocotl, 
who  never  before  had  deigned  to  teach  any  who  did  not  come 
to  them.  But  Marahquirita  was  inflexible  and  the  youth  of  her 
kingdom  were  proverbially  ''above  reproach,"  it  being  im- 
possible to  tamper  with  them  or  to  win  them  from  their  al- 
legiance to  their  queen,  their  priestess,  and  their  god.  Her 
rule  was  just  but  severe.  Many  factions  arose  as  is  the  rule  in 
every  dynasty.  There  were  murmurings  against  her  stern  de- 
crees, and  whisperings  that  the  princess  would  make  a  more 
agreeable  ruler.  But  Ytzlacotl,  the  wily,  smiled  as  he  noticed 
that  however  loud  the  complaints,  how  rebellious  the  spirit,  it 
was  quelled  by  one  searching  glance  of  this  strange  woman. 
Such  was  her  wonderful  magnetism  and  power  that  her  very 
presence  seemed  to  restrain  them  from  many  untoward  acts  of 
insubordination;  and  he  paid  her  court  without  ceasing.  She 
always  listened  to  him  with  the  attention  due  to  her  husband's 
friend;  but  although  she  received  his  advice  with  courtesy  it 
was  noticed  by  the  wise-acres  that  she  never  followed  it.  "I 
will  rule.  I  will  never  obey,"  was  her  motto  and  she  yielded  not 
one  atom  of  her  authority  to  another. 

The  days  passed  on  with  little  or  no  change  in  their  tireless 
routine  of  religious  rites  and  festivals,  the  instruction  and 
training  of  the  youth  of  both  sexes  in  military  .duties,  and  the 
ceaseless  industries  of  a  busy  populace. 

If  the  army  of  Marahquirita  was  incorruptible  as  an  army, 
it  still  was  not  proof  against  the  insinuating  influence  of  the 
wily  Spanish  priesthood.  A  bitter  wail  went  up  from  the  throne 
of  Queen  Marahquirita  when  she  was  told  that  King  Hermerne- 
hildo,  himself,  had  openly  espoused  the  Christian  religion.  It 
was  of  no  avail  for  him  to  plead  in  one  of  his  hasty  visits,  that 
theirs  was  a  conquered  land;  and  that  they  could  only  hold  to 
their  lawful  inheritance  by  pretending  at  least,  to  worship  as 
the  Spaniards  dictated.  The  secret  of  their  present  seat  of 
government  and  their  habitation  might  by  this  means  alone  still 
remain  a  secret  to  the  army  of  their  conquerors.  For  he  agreed 
between  them  that  should  he  provide  lodgment  within  Culhaucan 
for  the  holy  order  of  the  Catholic  Church,  they  should  remain 
unmolested  and  unknown  to  the  Spanish  king  and  to  the  Spanish 
conqueror  and  his  army.  To  do  this  they  had  simply  to  endow 
these  holy  friars  with  a  certain  per  cent,  of  their  superabundant 
wealth,  and,  (as  he  added  in  a  gloomy  undertone),  to  "bide 


392  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

their  time,"    when  it  might  be  possible  to  dislodge  them  and 
grasp  their  own  again. 

All  this  suited  the  high-souled  Marahquirita  but  little. 
But  she  withdrew  her  objections  at  the  earnest  prayer  of  her 
liege-lord  and  welcomed  the  strangers  in  their  midst. 

There  were  more  than  fifty  of  these  reverend  guests.  Mar- 
ahquirita welcomed  them  at  the  palace,  which  she  then  gave  up 
entirely  to  their  accommodation,  herself  retiring  with  her  priest- 
ess and  her  family  to  a  beautiful  but  smaller  house  at  the  very 
foot  of  the  great  winding  staircase  which  led  from  the  upper 
terrace  to  the  door  of  the  temple.  And  she  now  held  her  court, 
and  her  council  as  well,  in  the  great  judgment  hall  of  the 
temple  itself. 

The  friars  of  the  order  of  St.  Francis  came  unarmed  except 
with  good  words  and  deeds,  robed  in  the  simple  habit  of  their 
order.  But  their  manners  were  courtly  and  winning  and  the 
simple-hearted  natives  were  completely  won  by  their  untiring 
kindness,  and  really  believed  them  to  be  beings  of  a  higher  order 
than  aught  other  than  their  own  royal  rulers,  for  it  was  not  to 
be  believed  that  Marahquirita  their  queen  and  high-priestess 
had  her  peer  in  the  whole  earth.  When  she  appeared  in  their 
midst  and  bade  them  return  to  their  old-time  habits  of  worship 
they  dared  not  disobey,  but  these  religious  rites  came  to  be  ob- 
served with  more  and  yet  more  secrecy. 

The  strangers  were  skilled  in  healing,  (the  art  most 
esteemed  of  all  others  by  their  native  hosts),  and  here  there 
was  full  scope  for  their  skill  in  surgery.  For  this  as  we  have 
said  was  the  refuge  of  the  sick,  and  of  the  wounded  in  battle, 
who  were  conveyed  to  this  retreat  which  hitherto  had  been  un- 
suspected by  the  Spaniards,  although  they  had  long  searched 
for  its  whereabouts  to  the  east,  the  west  and  to  the  north.  It 
seemed  to  the  Spanish  priests  that  there  was  little  besides 
surgery  they  could  teach  to  this  wonderful  people,  whose 
queen  they  said,  was  the  most  beautiful  woman  and  the  most 
learned  in  all  the  known  world ;  albeit  she  had  never  before 
their  coming  seen  a  printed  book. 

They  manufactured  shoes  of  tanned  leather,  but  the  natives 
would  have  none  of  them,  prefering  the  loose  sandals  to  which 
they  were  accustomed  and  which  were  tanned  with  a  greater 
degree  of  perfection  than  the  leather  the  priests  displayed ; 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  393 

and  they  showed  the  friars  the  root  they  themselves  used 
for  the  purpose.  The  friars  wove  cloth  of  various  colors  but 
none  of  it  excelled,  if  indeed  it  equalled  the  snowy  cotton  webs 
of  the  Aztecs,  and  nothing  was,  I  think,  ever  so  beautiful  as 
the  gorgeous  feather-work  of  the  natives.  The  friars  made 
delicious  confections,  but  when  these  were  offered  to  their 
hosts  they  ate  them  with  relish  but  gave  in  return  such  won- 
derful condiments  in  the  shape  of  fig-paste,  stuffed  dates,  and 
pasties  of  chocolate  which  simply  defied  competition.  Then 
there  were  their  buildings  of  the  snow-white  and  radiant  blue 
stone,  the  slabs  of  which  were  many  feet  square,  and  of  the 
glistening  stucco-work,  whose  quaint  designs  were  beyond  any- 
thing hitherto  known  to  the  Spaniards,  and  the  secret  of  whose 
production  and  composition  was  kept  from  them.  Yet  all  the 
wishes  of  the  friars  were  not  only  gratified  (as  to  possession), 
but  even  anticipated.  They  had  but  to  name  their  wish  for 
aught  the  kingdom  afforded,  to  receive.  They  wished 
to  build  a  chapel  and  the  rock  they  coveted  lay,  as  if  by  magic 
at  their  hand,  yet  no  amount  of  bribery  or  of  cajolery  was 
sufficient  to  enlighten  them  as  to  the  place  from  which  this 
building  material  had  been  brought. 

Marahquirita  seemed  to  study  and  to  anticipate  their 
every  want.  Nothing  was  withheld  from  them  except  the  royal 
presence  itself.  She  permitted  her  people  to  mix  freely  with 
the  strangers,  hoping  that  they  might  benefit  by  this  inter- 
course in  many  ways.  But  for  herself,  she  held  scornfully 
aloof.  They  could  teach  her  nothing.  Already  she  felt  her 
own  superiority  of  knowledge.  She  received  and  entertained 
them  at  stated  intervals  that  etiquette  demanded,  but  at  all 
other  times  she  held  herself  aloof.  She  saw  through  their  soft 
speeches  and  insinuating  kindness,  the  real  motive  which 
actuated  it  all.  And  this  she  knew  was  avarice,  greed,  the  cov- 
etousness  which  would  enrich  them  and  their  people  at  the  ex- 
pense of  her  and  hers,  and  at  that  of  her  religion,  and  she 
smiled  proudly  as  she  remembered  that  the  secret  of  the  hiding 
place  of  the  great  bulk  of  all  their  riches  was  in  her  keeping 
alone.  She  smiled  again,  that  scornful,  sarcastic  smile  which 
became  her  stately  beauty  so  well,  as  she  wondered  how  they 
would  succeed  in  converting  Marahquirita  to  their  faith. 

Time  passed  on,  and  the  history  of  the  many  Aztec  prov- 
inces which  had  succumbed  to  this  peaceful  priestly  conquest 


394  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

where  arms  would  have  been  defeated,  was  repeated  here  in 
the  Seven  Cities  of  the  Cibola.  The  priests  encroached  more 
and  more  upon  the  rights  of  the  natives,  made  greater  and 
greater  demands  upon  them,  until  at  length  they  were  as 
much  their  slaves  as  were  their  brethren,  of  the  Spanish  king 
and  his  army.  They  took  the  fairest  and  sweetest  of  the  Indian 
maidens  for  their  ministering  angels,  under  the  pretense  of 
teaching  them  the  catechism,  and  the  prayers  of  the  church. 
Not  even  was  the  fair  Princess  Marahquirita  exempt  from 
this  servitude,  but  she  was  claimed  for  his  very  own  by  he  who, 
from  his  fancy  perhaps  for  casting  aside  his  priestly  habit, 
with  his  priestly  duties  and  in  his  hours  of  leisure  and 
relaxation,  donning  a  scarlet  dressing  gown  instead,  and  from  his 
haughtily  asserted  leadership,  was  known  as  the  Cardinal. 
Only  the  queen  herself  had  thus  far  escaped,  and  this  not  only 
because  she  asserted  her  rights,  but  more  perhaps  because  she 
was  coveted  by  and  was  set  apart  as  the  lawful  prey  of  their 
ally  the  powerful  Ytzlacotl,  without  whose  assistance  they 
could  never  have  succeeded  in  gaining  their  present  foothold. 

No  hint  of  this  had  Hermernehildo  in  his  rare  visits  to 
the  place,  for  these  were  but  hasty — and  his  time  was  filled  with 
what  he  believed  to  be  more  momentous  matters— then  he  was 
off  again  to  the  petty  skirmishings  which  were  never  at  an  end 
and  which  he  dignified  by  the  name  of  war. 

This  community  of  Franciscan  friars,  together  with  their 
priest,  the  Cardinal,  now  numbered  without  their  Spanish 
retainers  about  seventy  souls.  The  Cardinal,  the  priest 
Antonio  Gonzalez,  was  among  the  latest  arrivals  and  it  was  due 
to  him  that  most  of  the  more  stringent  measures  had  been  taken. 
He  brought  with  him  a  mistress,  the  beautiful  Eulalie,  who 
was  called  "Sister"  by  the  monks  and  who  veiled  her  won- 
derful beauty,  in  public  at  least,  under  the  homely  garb  of 
the  Franciscan  order,  but  who  was  known  to  array  herself  each 
evening  in  all  the  paraphernalia  of  the  European  fashion  of  the 
day.  and  thus  to  preside  at  the  dinner-table  of  the  Cardinal. 

The  Princess  Marahquirita,  too,  was  present  at  these  feasts 
at  times,  but  not  often,  for  the  Cardinal  guarded  this  one  of  his 
prizes  most  carefully  and  lovingly.  Her  innocent,  child-like 
graces  of  person  and  of  mind  were  as  balm  to  him  after  the 
dissipations  which  were  shared  by  the  most  of  the  brothers  an^ 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  395 

by  Sister  Eulalie;  and  he  usually  sent  her  to  spend  these  idle 
hours  with  her  royal  sister  and  the  little  ones. 

It  was  this  enslavery  of  the  body  and  of  the  soul  of  her 
young  female  subjects  which  made  Queen  Marahquirita  most 
bitter  against  her  priestly  guests,  who  tried  to  assert  their  rights 
as  her  priestly  rulers.  And  most  bitterly  did  she  inveigh 
against  the  measure.  But  the  Princess  Marahquirita  took  her 
royal  sister's  hands  in  both  her  own  and  kneeling  before  her 
she  looked  up  into  her  stern,  cold  face,  and  smiling  shook  her 
own  head  in  denial. 

"Dost  mean  that  he,  the  Cardinal,  hath  left  thee  pure  and 
unsullied  in  person  and  in  mind?"  questioned  the  queen,  her 
eagerness  and  doubt  flushing  the  customary  pallor  of  her  face 
to  a  lovely  rose-tint. 

"Just  so."  And  the  princess  laughed  a  merry,  childish 
laugh  of  triumph.  "And  for  a  strange  reason  where  the  one  is 
the  master,  the  other  the  slave.  'Because  he  loves  me.'  But  he 
loves  me,  he  says,  this  good  old  man,  as  if  I  were  his  own 
daughter.  He  says  that  I  am  as  pure  and  holy  in  my  innocence, 
as  the  Blessed  Virgin  whom  he  worships,  and  who  was  beloved 
by  that  God  whom  all  these  Spaniards  worship. ' ' 

"Now  may  not  only  that  God  of  the  Spaniards,  but  our 
own  fair  Quetzalcotl,  forever  bless  the  good  old  man,"  cried  the 
queen  sister,  tears  of  thankful  relief  for  the  once  breaking  up 
her  studied  haughteur  of  face  and  manner.  Then  for  the  first 
time  she  listened  with  patient  interest  to  the  stories  of  the 
Spanish  religion,  of  the  Trinity,  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Ghost.  And  to  that  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  that  of  the  birth, 
the  life  and  death,  and  resurrection  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 

"It  is  a  very  beautiful  story,"  she  said,  "suited  to  youth 
and  to  children.  But  the  last  great  sacrifice  seems  to  me 
insufficient.  I  would  that  by  act  so  simple,  I  could  redeem  my 
own  down-trodden  people.  What  is  life  compared  to  their 
freedom?  And  ah!  what  is  life  without  it?"  And  then  she 
tenderly  kissed  and  fondled  the  sister  whom  she  loved  with  such 
devoted  tenderness.  And  the  princess  remembered  for  the  first 
time  that  she  had  for  long  been  a  stranger  to  these  caresses. 

The  sisters  held  long  converse  upon  that  day,  and  the 
heart  of  the  princess  was  bared  to  the  gaze  of  Queen  Marah- 


0»D  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

quirita.  She  was  so  relieved  from  that  anxiety  upon  her  sister's 
behalf  that  she  playfully  called  her  "Marie,"  the  name  of  the 
Virgin  which  was  so  near  her  own  and  in  which  she  had  been 
baptized.  And  when  the  princess  returned  to  minister  to  his 
wants,  in  the  guise  of  a  household  fairy,  the  Cardinal,  the  wily 
Gonzalez  knew  from  her  chatter  that  he  had  made  greater 
progress  toward  the  goal  for  which  he  was  striving  in  that  one 
hour  of  sisterly  intercourse  than  he  had  made  in  all  the  years 
of  his  sojourn  at  La  Gran  Quibira. 

The  princess  had  said  to  her  queen  and  sister,  of  her  own 
protector  and  teacher:  "The  good  priest  Gonzalez  cherishes 
me  as  a  well-beloved  daughter.  He  loves  Sister  Eulalie  as 
himself,  and  he  worships  thee  as  he  does  the  Virgin  to  whom 
no  other  living  woman  except  Queen  Marahquirita,  he  says,  can 
be  compared." 

But  the  queen  only  smiled  that  sarcastic  smile  of  hers  which 
boded  no  great  good  to  the  wily  priest,  although  she  took  pains 
to  show  him  signal  favor  when  next  he  paid  her  court,  and 
to  thank  him  for  her  sister's  safety,  by  courteous  acts  since  it 
might  not  be  spoken  in  words,  and  by  costly  presents. 

Time  passed  on,  and  the  encroachment  of  the  priests,  and 
their  demands  upon  the  native  populace  grew  with  time.  Their 
thirst  for  gold  seemed  unquenchable.  Already  they  were  richer 
than  any  known  community  of  their  own  order,  yet  they  were 
not  satisfied.  This  was  but  a  small  part  of  the  whole,  and  noth- 
ing but  the  whole  would  satisfy  their  inordinate  greed.  They 
had  taken  their  stipulated  tithe  many  times  over,  but  from 
Ytzlacotl  and  from  the  gossip  of  their  many  converts  they  had 
heard  of  that  wonderful  treasure  which  had  mysteriously  dis- 
appeared upon  their  coming  to  La  Gran  Quibra.  Spies  were 
incessantly  upon  the  watch.  The  lower  vaults  of  the  temple 
itself  had  been  secretly  entered  and  explored  by  them,  but 
without  reward.  Then  the  dread  Inquisition  which  had  brought 
to  light  the  hidden  treasures  of  the  Moors,  in  Spain,  was  intro- 
duced, and  this  against  the  advice  of  the  priest  Gonzalez,  who 
declared  that  the  peaceful  policy  of  the  fox  was  the  best,  and 
showed  how  by  patient  watching  and  waiting  they  would  gain 
their  point  and  that  then  their  sway  over  the  natives  would  be 
held  without  difficulty,  while  if  they  resorted  to  extreme  meas- 
ures with  those  whom  he  was  satisfied  knew  nothing  certain 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  397 

about  the  buried  riches  it  must  in  time  result  in  the  defeat  of 
their  own  object,  and  perhaps  their  own  expulsion  from  the 
place.  And  then  there  were  many  of  the  tombs  to  be  pillaged 
yet.  For  the  secret  that  the  Aztecs  buried  great  treasures  with 
their  dead,  Gonzalez  had  wrested  from  the  unsuspecting  Prin- 
cess Marahquirita,  who  just  as  innocently  betrayed  the  fact 
that  she  had  told  it  to  her  sister  and  queen.  The  brothers  be- 
lieved that  their  own  rifling  of  these  tombs  had  been  done  in 
secret;  but  the  Queen  Marahquirita  had  her  own  tireless  spies 
as  well,  and  their  every  movement  was  known  to  her.  She  gave 
no  sign  nor  heed  and  submitted  to  what  she  believed  to  be  the 
inevitable.  She  had  been  told  by  her  priestesses  of  their  secret 
visit  to  the  temple  vaults,  but  she  only  smiled  and  said:  "Per- 
haps their  failure  will  satisfy  them  that  there  is  no  more  treasure 
to  be  wrested  from  us." 

But  that  was  a  terrible  day  when  the  plundering  of  their 
honored  dead  first  came  to  be  known  to  the  warrior  priestesses 
and  to  the  natives  in  general.  And  they  called  upon  Marahquir- 
ita to  head  her  hosts  and  to  battle  for  the  safety  of  their  dead. 
This  was  perhaps  the  strangest  battle  fought  upon  the  earth, 
wherein  the  holy  charitable  order  of  St.  Francis  took  up  arms 
against  the  Aztec  priestesses,  and  the  maimed  and  weak  host  of 
La  Gran  Quibira. 

The  priests  were  worsted  in  the  fight  although  they  lost 
none  of  their  number,  while  many  of  the  old  and  decrepid  and 
even  of  the  Aztec  children  were  left  dead  upon  the  battle- 
field. The  friars,  however,  were  forced  backward,  and  within 
the  palace  and  the  chapel,  and  the  grounds  whose  possession 
they  owed  to  the  generosity  of  their  foes.'  And  here  they 
were  held  captive  until  the  terms  of  peace  were  made.  Gonzalez, 
in  the  name  of  the  Franciscan  brothers,  who  were  now  but 
too  glad  to  accept  him  as  their  leader  and  their  adviser,  offered 
to  restore  the  stolen  treasures  to  the  tombs  from  which  they 
had  been  taken.  But  to  this  the  queen  would  not  consent,  for 
she  knew  but  too  well  that  they  would  never  rest  until  by  some 
means  they  had  repossessed  themselves  of  what  they  knew  to 
be  there. 

So  she  said:  "Keep  thou  the  gold,  the  silver  and  the 
jewels.  But  enter  thou  into  a  solemn  treaty  with  me  and  with 
my  people,  never  again  to  molest  our  dead  without  our  sanction. ' ' 


o9S  L.A   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

This  was  done.  The  rifled  tombs  which  were  indeed  all  of 
those  of  which  the  Spaniards  had  any  knowledge,  were  sealed 
in  the  presence  of  the  assembled  multitude;  and  peace  was  re- 
stored— for  a  time.  But  there  is  always  "the  traitor  in  the 
camp,"  and  Ytzlacotl,  baffled  in  all  of  his  attempts  to  win  the 
love  of  Queen  Marahquirita,  resolved  to  revenge  himself  for 
the  slights  she  did  not  hesitate  to  heap  upon  the  false  friend 
of  her  husband,  pointed  out  to  them  the  fact  that  each  of  the 
beautiful,  fairy-like  structures  scattered  all  over  the  terraces 
of  the  Sacred  Hill,  and  apparently  occupied  by  the  people  as 
habitations  or  as  pleasure-resorts,  were  but  the  tombs  of  the 
most  honored  among  the  Aztec  dead,  and  that  here  perhaps  was 
stored  that  vast  wealth  which  they  had  brought  hither  upon 
their  Hegira  from  the  stormy  South.  The  princess  again  con- 
firmed this  without  well  knowing  what  she  did. 

Then  these  holy  friars  set  their  wits  to  work  to  find  means 
to  possess  themselves  of  this  wealth  of  the  tombs,  placed  in  the 
safe  guardianship  of  the  dead;  and  yet  to  adhere  to  the  letter 
of  their  treaty  with  the  queen  Marahquirita.  Council  after  council 
was  held,  and  here  it  was  that  the  wily  Gonzalez  grew  to  be 
respected  because  of  his  advice.  He  pondered  long,  however, 
over  this  riddle,  but  one  night  when  his  wits  were  sharpened 
with  that  wine  which  never  dulled  them,  he  brought  down  his 
clencher  fist  upon  the  supper-table  with  a  resounding  blow 
which  shook  and  rattled  the  porcelain  and  crystal  upon  it,  and 
cried  out:  "I  have  it.  I  have  it  at  last."  Then  he  bent  for- 
ward and  having  first  taken  the  precaution  to  have  the  doors 
guarded  by  the  strictest  of  their  order  against  all  possible  in- 
trusion or  eavesdropping,  he  spoke  in  earnest  tones.  Such  a 
shout  of  triumph  as  went  up  from  their  saintly  throats,  when  the 
Cardinal  ceased  speaking,  had  never  before  been  heard  within 
the  sacred  precincts  of  their  cloister. 

"Thou  art  the  very  devil,  in  thine  ingenuity,  Father  Gon- 
zales,"  was  the  cry  upon  all  sides,  and  the  brothers  laughed 
long  and  loudly. 

Then  Gonzales,  the  pious  priest,  said  modestly:  "It  savors 
somewhat  of  'sacrilege,'  but  I  can  think  of  no  other  safe  plan. 
The  people  I  can  count  upon;  but  to  hoodwink  the  wise  Queen 
Marahquirita— that  is  quite  another  matter." 

The  plan  of  the  Cardinal  was  simple  as  it  was  feasible. 
They  were  to  take  the  story  of  the  preaching  of  Christ  among 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  399 

the  tombs,  and  request  that  they  be  permitted  to  convert  the 
Aztec  dead  as  well  as  they  had  the  living. 

Queen  Marahquirita  was  indeed  a  wise  woman,  wiser  even 
than  the  Cardinal  knew.  She  was  not  hoodwinked  in  the 
least,  for  when  the  petition  was  laid  before  her  she  intuitively 
guessed  its  object.  But  she  called  together  her  own  council, 
both  of  church  and  state,  and  laid  the  petition  of  the  friars 
before  it  without  revealing  to  any  that  she  had  solved  the  riddle. 

The  council  decided  to  let  the  Spanish  priests  have  their 
way.  It  was  something  after  the  order  of  the  decision  of 
Gamaliel  in  the  matter  of  the  Christian  religion.  "If  it  (the 
mission  to  the  dead)  were  a  corrupt  one  it  must  simply  fail 
and  fall  through;  while  it  would  be  most  ungenerous  of  them 
to  deny  to  their  dead  the  advantages  they  themselves  had 
enjoyed,  and  which  promised  a  re-union  with  the  converted 
dead,  in  the  world  to  come." 

The  queen  and  high-priestess  listened,  and  made  known 
this  decision  to  the  suppliants  never  once  betraying  the  suspicion 
and  scorn  which  was  within  her  own  heart.  She  only  stipu- 
lated that  three  days  should  elapse  before  the  task  of  con- 
verting the  Aztec  dead  to  Christianity  should  be  begun,  and 
the  priest  Gonzalez  noted  with  uneasiness  that  she  made  sundry 
preparations  for  some  untoward  event,  and  among  these  she  took 
the  precaution  to  take  the  Princess  Marahquirita  to  her  own 
quarters,  and  to  as  studiously  bar  out  all  of  those  Aztec  maidens 
who  had  become  the  willing  slaves  of  the  priests  and  their 
friends.  Among  other  things,  Ytzlacotl  was  forbidden  the  royal 
presence. 

But  all  these  preparations  were  made  so  quietly  and  unob- 
trusively as  to  excite  no  suspicion  or  comment  in  any  mind  save 
his,  and  Gonzalez  learned  a  lesson  from  this  wonderful  woman 
and  held  his  peace. '  But  did  she  guess,  this  wonderful 
woman  of  the  existence  of  the  dread  inquisition  in  her  kingdom 
and  suspect  the  truth  regarding  the  almost  numberless  deaths 
which  had  occurred  there  within  the  past  few  months? 

The  nightly  court  of  the  Inquisition  was  held  under  her 
very  eyes,  as  it  were,  at  what  was  the  blacksmith's  forge,  where 
the  vessels  and  implements  used  in  the  temple  were  made. 

The  blacksmith,  a  mute  of  huge  proportions,  a  slave  of 
another  people,  had  been  converted  to  the  Catholic  faith.  He 


400  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

was  a  vicious  wretch,  rendered  more  so  by  his  slavery,  but 
had  been  chosen  for  this  office,  because  of  his  strength  and 
skill  in  forging  the  metals.  And  a  fanatic  in  his  new  faith,  he 
had  been  selected  by  the  friars  as  the  executioner  of  the  In- 
quisition. 

Did  she  suspect? 

She  not  only  suspected,  but  knew  all  things  which  passed 
upon  her  ground.  She  knew  to  what  a  fate  had  been  dedicated 
those  unfortunates  who  had  disappeared  in  numbers  and  singly 
of  late  and  whom  the  priests  had  professed  to  bury  secretly 
because  they  declared  that  these  had  died  of  that  disease  we 
know  as  "small-pox."  For  she  knew  what  Gonzalez  and  his 
train  of  holy  friars  did  not  as  yet  suspect,  that  the  ground  upon 
which  the  temple  and  the  temple  offices  were  built  was  honey- 
combed with  tiers  of  vaults  and  passages  to  which  she  alone 
held  the  key.  For  from  one  of  these  which  adjoined  the 
council  chamber  of  the  Inquisition,  she  had  watched  their  pro- 
ceedings and  listened  to  its  horrible  verdicts,  yea,  and  had 
witnessed  their  execution  as  well.  But  Marahquirita  was  a 
wise  woman  and  she  held  her  peace.  Her  policy  was  always 
pacific ;  but  when  these  things  became  known  to  her  people,  and 
they  of  their  own  account  rose  to  punish  the  offenders,  she 
would  quietly  take  her  place  at  their  head  as  was  her  custom 
and  right,  and  would  lead  them  on  to  avenge  the  wrongs  of 
which  they  were  as  yet  ignorant. 

And  with  this  knowledge  gained  in  secret  and  kept  by  her 
a  secret,  it  was  no  wonder  that  in  face  and  in  manner  she 
seemed  to  grow  more  cold  and  proud.  For  she  must  have 
simply  been  frozen  with  horror  at  the  sounds  she  had  heard 
— the  sights  she  had  seen. 

The  battle  this  time  was  something  terrible.  The  whole 
populace  engaged  in  the  fight  upon  one  side  or  upon  the  other. 
But  the  brunt  of  the  battle  fell  in  reality  upon  Queen  Marah- 
quirita and  her  seventy  warrior  princesses,  and  the  Cardina1 
who  headed  the  seventy  holy  friars. 

It  was  a  sight  unequalled  in  history.  The  attacking  party 
was  the  band  of  female  warriors  who  drove  back  the  hooded 
monks  time  after  time,  until  at  length  they  were  virtually  im- 
prisoned within  the  walls  of  their  own  cloister,  but  newly  built, 


A  MUSICAL.  MYSTERY  401 

and  by  means  of  the  generosity  of  these  very  people  whom  they 
still  persisted  in  robbing. 

Gonzalez  had  relished  the  situation  but  little,  and  grumbled 
loudly  that  their  want  of  patience  had  brought  all  this  about, 
but  assumed  the  leadership  nevertheless.  For  the  priest  was 
of  noble  birth  (some  whispered  that  he  was  even  akin  to 
royalty),  and  had  been  knighted  for  deeds  of  valor  in  the 
Spanish  army,  before  he  had  chosen  the  more  quiet  life  of  a 
priest.  Many  were  the  stories  told  of  his  prowess  in  war  and 
of  his  excesses  in  love.  The  Cardinal  was  well-skilled  in 
arms;  but  he  was  mute  with  admiration  at  the  tactics  of  these 
female  priestess  warriors.  Such  uniformity  of  movement  allied 
to  such  perfect  grace  he  had  never  beheld.  Their  action  in 
battle  seemed  unrestrained,  yet  he  observed  that  there  was  a 
certain  system  which  ruled;  a  system  as  perfect  as  it  seemed 
impulsive.  And  he  gazed  in  unbounded  admiration  upon  the 
spirit  which  seemed  to  govern  tho  whole,  the  beautiful  Marah- 
quirita. 

For  Father  Gonzales,  priest  of  the  Holy  Catholic  faith 
had  met  with  his  deserts  at  last.  He  was  madly,  hopelessly  in 
love  with  the  queen  of  the  barbarians,  Marahquirita,  high- 
priestess  of  the  idolators.  He  had  paid  little  heed  to  the  ribald 
jests  of  the  brothers  who  relaxed  the  rules  of  their  holy  order 
to  suit  their  own  pleasure,  secure  from  the  merited  reproof 
because  of  their  great  distance  from  the  heads  of  the  church  and 
of  the  order  to  which  they  belonged. 

But  the  generous  minded,  pacific  queen,  who  had  lavished 
wealth  and  honors  upon  them,  had  now  given  as  her  command: 
"Strike  to  win.  Strike  to  kill."  And  the  number  of  the  Fran- 
ciscans was  diminished  by  many,  until  in  the  fear  of  total  ex- 
termination they  were  glad  to  make  peace  upon  any  terms. 

It  cut  the  Cardinal  to  the  very  soul  to  see  the  scorn  upon 
the  face  of  Marahquirita  when  the  treaty  was  signed.  For 
he  at  least  knew  that  she  credited  the  pledges  of  the  holy  friars 
not  all. 

And  this  had  been  the  cause  of  it  all.  The  priests  had  been 
given  leave,  as  has  been  said,  to  preach  the  gospel  in  the  tombs. 
They  had  chosen  the  hour  of  sunset  for  the  work.  And  daily 
after  vespers  the  procession  had  formed  at  the  chapel  door, 
and  had  marched  with  chants  and  music  to  the  tombs.  These 


402  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

were  the  beautiful  mausoleums  of  which  mention  has  been 
made.  The  friars  had  called  these  the  "Bird  Palaces,"  for 
here  in  front  of  each  upon  the  great  flat  flagstone  which  paved 
the  entranceway  was  placed  each  day  fresh  food  and  water, 
and  pulque,  and  hither  flocked  innumerable  feathered  songsters 
to  regale  themselves.  But  the  flagstones  were,  they  now  found, 
the  altar  stones  upon  which  was  placed  the  daily  food  for  the 
dead  who  by  some  deed  of  their  own  or  by  some  accidental 
disfigurement,  were  unable  as  yet  to  take  that  upward  flight 
to  the  heaven  of  purified  souls,  and  were  detained  upon  their 
way  to  finish  some  appointed  mission,  to  minister  to  those 
neglected  here. 

So  the  paroquets  and  mocking-birds  were  put  to  flight. 
The  stucco  removed  which  sealed  up  the  doorways,  the  great 
stones  rolled  away  from  the  openings,  and  the  priests  filed  in 
bearing  their  burning  censors,  and  the  images  of  the  Holy 
Virgin  and  the  infant  Jesus.  And  here  under  cover  of  prayer 
and  the  administering  of  the  sacrament  of  baptism  they  delib- 
erately robbed  the  tombs,  declaring  that  the  added  weight  of 
the  images  wherein  they  had  stuffed  the  glittering  plunder  was 
due  to  the  weight  of  sin  which  the  Virgin  and  the  Savior  had 
taken  upon  themselves.  When  a  tomb  was  completely  plun- 
dered they  sealed  it  up  once  more  until  the  coming  of  the 
Judgment  Day,  when  all  were  to  be  called  at  one  and  the  same 
time.  This  was  repeated  night  after  night  until  the  greedy 
maw  of  this  sacred  community  was  filled  to  overflowing. 

Marahquirita  looked  on  in  scornful  silence,— she  alone  whom 
nothing  could  blind;  she,  who  was  more  wise  than  the  Serpent 
Woman  whom  she  represented,  knew  all.  And  Gonzalez  sus- 
pected this,  and  more  than  this  that  during  those  three  days  of 
council  she  and  her  priestesses  had  managed  to  remove  the 
greater  part  of  the  valuables  from  thence.  "But  how?"  Ask 
the  winds  that  could  be  heard  moaning  like  the  myriads  of 
lost  spirits,  beneath  their  feet.  Ask  the  bones  of  those  one  hun- 
dred mutes  which  were  found  guarding  a  blank  wall  in  the 
vaults  beneath  the  temple.  But  be  sure,  Gonzalez,  that  they 
will  tell  you  only  that  she  had  left  for  the  church  just  that 
tithe  of  the  whole  which  was  agreed  upon;  no  more,  no  less. 
For  their  lips  are  forbidden  to  tell  the  secret  of  how  this  was 
accomplished  or  where  the  treasures  were  stored.  "It  is  nothing 
short  of  witchcraft,"  he  grumbled.  And  he  was  overheard. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  403 

It  was  by  the  merest  chance  that  the  defection  of  the  priests 
was  discovered  by  the  masses  of  the  people.  The  chambers  of 
the  mausoleums  were  entered  only  by  the  officiating  priests  for 
their  space  was  small.  Here  under  cover  of  their  religious 
rites  they,  as  we  have  said,  filled  the  hollow  images  with  the 
riches  of  the  tombs.  The  guard  and  escort  provided  and  the 
friends  of  the  dead,  and  the  populace  at  large  prayed  in  chorus 
outside  and  sang  and  sounded  the  cymbals  as  success  was  said 
to  crown  the  efforts  of  the  priests.  Then  the  bodies  were  re- 
moved to  be  re-interred  in  consecrated  ground,  or  left  within 
the  tombs  as  their  friends  dictated,  and  the  tombs  were  closed 
again.  It  was  the  Cardinal  himself  who  had  descried  a  jeweled 
ornament  with  a  chain  attached  which  had  been  carelessly 
dropped  by  those  whose  duty  it  was  to  care  for  the  plunder, 
and  he  picked  it  up  and  as  he  supposed,  thrust  it  into  a  pocket 
which  hung  from  his  girdle.  But  he  too  had  missed  his  cal- 
culations and  the  ornament  had  fallen  to  the  ground  unper- 
ceived  by  him.  It  was  Carrenino,  the  brother  of  Hermerne- 
hildo,  who  had  but  lately  arrived  with  dispatches  from  the  wars 
who  saw  it  fall,  and  who  courteously  raised  it  and  presented  it 
again  to  Father  Gonzalez.  The  Cardinal  was  startled  out 
of  his  customary  calm  by  this.  "Did  Carrenino  suspect?" 
But  the  stolid  face  of  the  young  Indian  told  him  nothing.  It 
was  as  unmoved  as  a  piece  of  sculptured  marble.  He  had  the 
man  watched  closely.  But  Carrenino  did  not  attempt  to  have 
speech  with  the  queen.  He  sought  the  princess  instead  for 
he  loved  her,  but  the  spies  declared  that  he  spoke  only  love 
to  her  and  not  one  word  of  his  suspicions,  if  indeed  he  enter- 
tained any.  Yet  he  was  kept  under  close  surveillance  during 
all  of  that  night  and  far  into  the  next  day.  He  spoke  no  word 
yet,  before  the  evening  service  began,  the  whole  populace  knew. 
The  Queen  had  held  her  Council,  and  it  had  ended  in  her  rising 
at  the  close  of  the  secret  conference  and  belting  her  sword  at  her 
side.  This  was  the  signal  for  War,  and  her  Priestess  warriors 
followed  her  example.  Together  they  marched  to  the  plundered 
tombs.  Again  these  were  unsealed  and  the  secret  of  the  maraud- 
ing friars  was  a  secret  no  longer. 

The  populace  arose  en  masse,  all  the  more  furious  that 
their  own  defection  in  their  religion  had  been  the  cause  of  this 
second  robbery  of  their  sacred  tombs. 


404  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

The  result  we  have  told.  And  now  a  second  treaty  was  en- 
tered into  with  the  holy  friars  and  the  tombs  were  to  be  un- 
molested for  the  future. 

The  priests  were  forced  to  return  the  bulk  of  their  ill-got- 
ten gains  to  the  places  from  which  it  had  been  taken,  and  things 
went  on  to  all  appearances  much  as  usual.  Genzalez  felt  this 
defeat  more  bitterly  than  the  rest  and  writhed  under  the  scorn- 
ful gaze  of  the  woman  whom  he  loved.  Yet  he  did  not  refuse  to 
accord  to  her  the  full  credit  of  her  astuteness.  When  ridiculed 
and  taunted  by  his  contemporaries,  because  of  his  unwonted  fail- 
ure to  win  the  favor  of  this  most  beautiful  of  all  women,  he  re- 
plied: "Why  should  I  complain?  I  behold  hourly  the  three 
most  beautiful  women  upon  the  face  of  the  earth.  The  one  I 
cherish  as  a  beloved  daughter;  the  second  I  love  as  my  mistress; 
while  the  third  I  worship  as  my  queen." 

Carrenino  was  among  the  'missing.'  Many  of  the  Aztecs 
had  mysteriously  disappeared,  and  search  had  been  made  for 
them  in  vain.  The  friars,  frightened  at  length  by  the  angry  fur- 
ore this  was  raising,  and  finding  that  the  plea  that  they  must 
have  stolen  away  to  join  the  army  was  not  received,  and,  taking 
the  hint  at  last  that  secret  communication  was  kept  up  continu- 
ally between  the  recluses  and  their  countrymen  outside,  took 
care  after  this  to  assign  as  a  reason  for  the  disappearance  of 
others  that  the  dread  disease,  small-pox,  had  broken  out,  and 
that  these  were  separated  for  a  time  from  their  friends  as  a  sani- 
tary precaution.  But  those  of  the  Indians  who  were  said  to  be 
thus  stricken  down  were  never  known  to  recover,  and  the  mur- 
murs grew  so  loud  it  was  necessary  to  show  the  intended  vic- 
tims of  the  Inquisition  to  the  Populace  and  to  carry  them  openly 
in  litters  to  the  blacksmith's  forge,  which  was  declared  to  be  re- 
served for  hospital  purposes  and  quarentined,  that 
their  friends  might  know  their  destination.  And  sometimes  even 
the  faces  of  those,  who  had  not  been  mutilated  by  the  torture, 
were  exposed  to  view,  to  still  suspicion.  This  had  the  desired  ef- 
fect upon  all  save  Queen  Marahquirita,  who  watched  in  secret, 
and  feeling  the  utter  uselessness  of  telling  the  accursed  tale, 
which  could  only  have  the  effect  to  arouse  the  vengeful  spirit  of 
her  people  possibly  to  their  own  annihilation,  kept  the  hellish 
secret  of  the  Inquisition  and  patiently  bided  her  time. 

But  Carrenino  was  a  prince,  the  King  Consort's  own  brother 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  405 

and  was  as  dear  to  Hermernehildo  as  his  own  life,  and  his  fate 
was  not  to  be  ignored,  or  steeped  in  doubt. 

Thrice  had  the  priest  Gonzalez  demanded  the  return  to  the 
palace  of  the  Princess  Marahquirita,  and  thrice  had  his  demand 
been  refused.  The  Princess  had  been  ill ;  but  the  proud  Queen 
disdained  to  make  use  of  this  fact  as  an  excuse.  She  simply 
said:  "She  cannot  go.  Her  queen  desires  her  presence,"  and 
the  Cardinal's  eyes  glowed  with  admiration  at  her  bravery,  al- 
though, he  sadly  missed  the  sweet  presence  of  the  Princess  from 
his  household. 

At  length  the  queen  asserted  herself.  "Oh,  for  a  trusty 
messenger,"  she  cried.  "All  of  my  people  are  more  or  less  im- 
bued with  this  new  and  damnable  faith,  and  I  know  not  who  to 
trust.  Yet  by  tomorrow  eve,  Hermernehildo  should  know  of 
Carrenino's  disappearance,  and  of  all  those  other  dire  events 
which  I  have,  mistakenly  perhaps,  withheld  from  his  knowl- 
edge. ' ' 

The  Queen  had  spoken  in  soliloquy,  but  had  spoken  aloud 
and  the  Princess  answered  her :  "  I  know  one  who  can  be  trusted, 
if  I  but  ask  him.  This  is  GeraJdo,  the  Chamberlain  to  the 
Father  Gonzalez.  For  Geraldo  loves  me,  and  he  is  besides  un- 
corrupted  by  the  friars.  For  he  will  have  none  of  them  albeit  he 
is  in  service  among  them. ' ' 

The  Queen  shook  her  head  in  doubt.  She  had  heard  and  seen 
much  of  Geraldo  and  knew  that  it  was  for  some  such  reason  as 
her  own  that  he  hated  the  masters  whom  he  also  served,  "the 
Princess  Marahquirita,  has  many  suitors,"  she  said  at  length, 
"and  it  ill  pleaseth  me  to  use  love's  messengers  in  a  case  like 
this.  But,"  she  added  impatiently,  "Needs  must,"  and  she 
sent  for  Geraldo. 

When  the  m  appeared  she  stared  at  him  in  unfeigned  sur- 
prise. Never  before  had  she  been  in  such  close  proximity  to  him, 
and  much  was  now  revealed  to  her  keen  gaze  which  had  escaped 
even  the  notice  of  the  wily  priest  whom  this  man  served  so  well 
as  to  be  indispensable  to  him.  In  spite  of  his  clever  disguise  she 
recognized  in  him  one  of  her  own  people  and  one  high  in  rank. 

Finding  that  his  secret  had  been  read  by  this  wonderful 
woman,  he  made  her  that  obeisance  due  to  his  Queen  from  a  sub- 
ject of  exalted  rank,  and  bared  his  breast  to  her  view,  whereon 


406  LA   GRAN    QUIBIRA 

was  imprinted  a  sleeping  tortoise  in  that  vivid  blue  color  (known 
only  to  the  few  and  never  used  for  any  other  purpose),  which 
established  his  rank  and  his  identity  as  well. 

' '  Cibolo ! "  she  exclaimed.  ' '  Cibolo,  himself.  Our  truant  Em- 
peror."  And  Queen  Marahquirita  bowed  her  proud  head  more 
humbly  than  she  had  ever  bowed  it  before,  except  to  the  Deity 
whom  she  worshipped  and  represented.  Then  she  waived  him  to 
the  seat  upon  the  throne  which  she  had  vacated  for  the  purpose. 

But  the  Cibolo  shook  his  head  in  dissent  and  took  his  stand 
before  her  saying:  "Be  thou  Cibola!  Rule  thou  in  my  stead, 
wise  and  beautiful  Marahquirita.  For  thou  art  better  worthy  of 
the  throne  than  am  I.  I  am  here  for  vengeance  alone."  Then 
he  told  her  the  story  of  his  bitter  wrongs  at  the  hands  of  the 
Spaniards. 

Montezuma  of  The  Cibola,  thy  story  has  been  told  and  acted 
and  sung  by  scores  of  thousands  of  people  of  all  races  and  in  all 
tongues,  yet  none  have  told  it  truly  but  thyself,  and  that  to 
Marahquirita,  Queen  of  La  Gran  Quibira. 

Long  and  earnestly  the  two  talked  of  the  terrible  situation 
of  their  people,  and  consulted  as  to  the  best  method  of  warding 
off  from  them  or  at  least  of  mitigating  the  unhappy  fate  that 
had  overtaken  them. 

Thrice  Montezuma  repeated,  in  admiration  of  her  wisdom, 
"Marahquirita,  I  ran  away  all  too  late.  Hadst  thou  been  ruler 
in  the  time  of  my  mistaken  confidence  these  Spanish  priests  had 
never  gotten  this  foothold  in  our  kingdom. ' ' 

But  Marahquirita  shook  her  head  sadly  and  replied  in  sub- 
dued tones:  "Had  I  but  ruled  alone!  But  my  duty  as  a  wife 
has  ever  conflicted  with  my  duties  and  my  will  as  a  sovereign. 
It  was  under  my  rule,  but  against  my  will,  that  they  entered  even 
into  our  sacred  valley  and  settled  themselves  in  Culhaucan." 

Together  they  visited  the  vaults  beneath  the  temple,  for 
through  these  was  the  way  he  must  take  in  his  flight  to  warn  and 
assemble  the  Aztec  army  to  their  protection,  should  leave  of  ab- 
sence be  refused  him  by  the  Cardinal,  which  was  more  than 
probable,  for  the  priest  had  grown  suspicious,  he  said. 

Marahquirita  showed  him  the  chamber  in  which  lay  the 
skeletons  of  the  one-hundred  mutes  who  had  carried  the  treasure 
to  its  hiding  place. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  407 

"No."  She  replied  in  answer  to  his  inquiries.  "No.  I  did 
not  slay  them.  They  were  only  imprisoned  here  for  life,  lest 
they  should  disclose  the  secret.  They  were  well  tended  and  well 
fed.  But  some  horrible  disease  broke  out  among  them  and  within 
a  few  hours  before  even  the  sick  could  be  removed,  all  were  dead. 
This  is  but  the  entrance-chamber  as  thou  knowest,  and  these  cun- 
ning priests,  having  taken  their  measurements  and  finding  that 
this  covered  the  entire  underground  proportions  of  the  temple, 
believed  that  what  had  been  told  them  was  true, — and  that  the 
treasure  had  been  distributed  among  the  tombs,  and  had  been 
given  into  the  guardianship  of  the  dead.  But  from  hence  thou 
knowest  the  way  as  well  as  I,  Cibolo.  Lead  on." 

Montezuma  took  from  his  girdle  the  counterpart  of  the  tiny 
golden  key  which  hung  ever  at  the  side  of  the  Priestess  Queen, 
and  went  straight  to  the  center  of  the  northern  wall,  where  plac- 
ing the  key  in  a  tiny  crevice  which  seemed  but  a  flaw  or  a  scratch 
upon  the  center  of  a  huge  block  of  stone,  he  turned  it  round  and 
round  thrice  to  the  left.  The  huge  boulder  swung  back  as  if  by 
magic.  They  crept  through  the  narrow  opening  and  stood  many 
feet  below  the  cavity,  before  a  great  door.  The  great  key  which 
unlocked  this,  was  found  in  its  customary  hiding  place,  and, 
passing  through  this  and  another  long  passage  beyond,  they 
found  themselves  in  a  second  vast  chamber.  This  was  filled  with 
their  mummied  dead.  For  with  the  Ancient  of  their  people,  the 
art  of  preserving  their  dead  by  embalming  their  bodies,  had 
reached  perfection,  as  it  would  seem.  There  was  much  riches 
here,  for  the  Aztecs  were  too  astute  not  to  deceive  any  plunderers 
who  might  reach  this  place  into  believing  that  they  had  found 
the  whole  of  the  secreted  treasure,  Montezuma  did  not, 
however,  pause  here  except  to  glance,  hastily  around  to  see  if  all 
was  in  its  accustomed  place.  An  exclamation  broke  from  him. 
"Some  one  has  been  here,"  he  cried  in  alarm. 

"Only  I,"  replied  Marahquirita.  "This  is  the  only  way 
by  which  the  vaults  can  be  reached,  in  which  the  Spanish  priests 
perform  their  nightly  hellish  work,  of  which  thou  seemest  so 
skeptical.  And  it  is  the  only  way,  also,  to  the  outlet  in  the  outer 
wall  we  wot  of  and  which  thou  must  take  if  the  priest  Genzalez 
refuses  to  permit  thee  to  leave  the  place.  Now  come." 

They  had  shoved  aside  a  group  of  mummies  which  were  ban- 
ded together — the  members  it  would  seem  of  one  family.  The 


408  LA   GRAN  QUIBIRA 

golden  key  had  been  inserted  for  the  third  time  in  the  face  of 
the  rock  and  for  the  third  time  they  faced  a  heavy  door.  This 
opened,  another  appeared,  and  yet  another.  Throwing  these  open 
one  by  one  they  stood  at  length  in  the  great  treasure  chamber. 
Yet  strange  to  say  here  no  treasure  appeared.  The  walls  were 
simply  lined  from  floor  to  ceiling  with  huge  stone  coffers,  heav- 
liy  locked,  and  these  showed  not  but  seemed  to  be  but  a  portion 
of  the  walls  themselves. 

Cibolo  closely  examined  the  unbroken  Stucco  which  covered 
the  locks  of  many.  Marahquirita  showed  him  that  one  had  been 
disturbed:  "It  was  necessary,"  she  said:  "To  meet  the  ex- 
penses of  Hermernehildo's  latest  raid  upon  the  Spanish  army." 

Montezuma  nodded  approval :  ' '  Yet  I  could  not  have  be- 
lieved that  it  had  been  tampered  with  hadst  thou  not  told  me. 
How  earnest  thou  to  be  mistress  of  the  secret  of  the  Stucco- 
Work?" 

Marahquirita  smiled.  ' '  I  was  initiated  into  all  of  the  secrets 
of  our  Priesthood,"  she  said.  "Else  would  I  not  have  been 
High-Priestess. ' ' 

Montezuma  shook  his  head  in  turn.  ' '  I  suspect  thee  of  spy- 
ing, Marahquirita.  This  is  one  of  the  things  which  is  reserved 
for  male  intelligence  alone.  To  this  thou  hadst  no  right." 

Both  laughed.  But  no  more  was  said  except  that  Marah- 
quirita repeated  with  emphasis:  "There  is  nothing,  nothing 
I  do  not  know." 

This  empty  coffer  marked  the  outlet.  A  spring  was  touched 
and  the  coffer  swept  aside,  they  passed  singly  through  a  narrow 
opening  into  a  long  and  winding  corridor,  from  which  many 
others  branched  off ;  and  Montezuma  noticed  that  along  its  length 
was  stretched  a  stout  cord  of  Yucca  ribre. 

"I  am  fearful  lest  even  I  should  lose  my  way,"  explained 
the  Queen. 

"But  thou—"  questioned  Cibolo  in  surprise? 

"I  come  here  nightly  now,"  was  her  rejoinder.  "Why? 
thou  wilt  soon  know." 

At  length  this  passage  seemed  to  end  abruptly.  And  Monte- 
zuma was  about  to  touch  another  spring  upon  the  right  when 
Marahquirita  held  him  back  saying:  "Silence.  As  thou  valuest 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  409 

thy  life."  She  then  touched  another  spring  upon  the  left  and 
disclosed  the  entrance  to  a  small  secret  chamber  of  whose  exist- 
ence he  was  ignorant,  and  hurried  him  across  it  to  where  stood 
another  huge  stone  coffer  like  those  of  the  Treasure  Chamber. 
Placing  a  warning  finger  upon  her  own  lips  and  then  upon  his, 
she  softly  opened  this,  and  Montezuma  could  scarcely  suppress 
an  exclamation  of  surprise  and  delight  For  there,  revealed, 
lay  the  lost  Archives  of  their  race.  There  were  innumerable 
tablets  of  stone  and  roll  upon  roll  of  picture  writing. 

Then  he  bowed  low  before  the  beautiful,  triumphant  woman 
at  his  side,  whispering  softly:  "Thou  art — thou  must  be  'she,' 
else  how  came  this  knowledge  to  thee?" 

Marahquirita  laughed  softly  and  whispered  back  to  him: 
"  I  am  '  She. '  For  I  alone  have  solved  the  mysteries ; ' '  then  she 
relocked  the  coffer  with  a  key  which  she  displayed  for  the  first 
time.  It  was  one  cut  from  a  huge  diamond  and  which  Montezuma 
eyed  greedily. 

"It  is  indeed  the  lost  key  to  the  lost  Mysteries.  The  key  for 
which  I  pledged  myself  upon  my  own  initiation  to  search  without 
ceasing." 

"And  thou  hast  found  it  at  last,  and  in  the  keeping  of  a 
woman." 

The  coffer  swung  about  and  disclosed  another  passage  in 
which  were  steps  leading  upward.  They  mounted  these  and 
Marahquirita  halting  upon  the  topmost  landing,  motioned  the 
Cibola  to  set  down  his  torch  as  she  had  done.  Then  she  pointed 
out  to  him  two  loopholes  in  the  solid  wall  before  them,  and  whis- 
pered: "Look  and  listen." 

These  loopholes  which  were  large  enough  upon  this  side  of 
the  wall  to  admit  of  the  insertion  of  his  head  narrowed  to  such 
small  proportions  upon  the  opposite  side  as  to  defy  detection, 
from  the  rooms  into  whlich  they  looked. 

Cibola  looked  and  listened  as  he  had  been  commanded.  And 
when  he  drew  back,  his  face  was  ashen  pale  and  his  eyes  held  in 
them  a  look  of  unspeakable  terror.  Marahquirita  looked  at  him 
keenly,  but  spake  never  a  word  until  they  once  more  reached  the 
secret  chamber  where  the  Archives  were  stored.  Then  she  said : 
"Thou  sawest  Carrenino  upon  the  rack.  Thou  knowest  now 
the  hellish  secret  which  these  Spanish  priests  have  safely  kept 


410  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

from  thy  knowledge,  although  thou  hast  lived  in  their  very 
midst. ' ' 

When  he  had  rested  a  little  and  drunken  of  the  pulque 
which  she  offered  him,  saying  simply  in  explanation :  "I  come 
here  nightly  and  alone,  and  for  fear  that  my  hope  for  future  ven- 
gence  may  not  brace  me  up  for  my  safe  return,  I  keep  this  re- 
storative here. ' ' 

"Thou?  A  woman?"  he  cried  in  awe.  "And  hast  thou 
visited  this  place  more  than  once?" 

"Well,"  questioned  Maraquirita,  "What  sayest  thou  now? 
Art  satisfied  that  thou  knowest  but  little  of  those  among  whom 
thou  hast  lived?" 

"I  saw,"  replied  Montezuma,  in  a  tone  that  betokened  that 
he  even  now  believed  himself  to  be  dreaming.  "I  saw  what 
thou  callest  'The  Chamber  of  The  Inquisition'  and  in  it  were 
assembled  the  members.  I  beheld  the  tortures  which  they  in- 
flicted upon  the  hapless  Carrenino.  I  heard  his  shrieks  and 
prayers  and  denial  that  he  knew  aught  of  the  buried  treasure; 
which  indeed  is  true.  And  I  saw  by  the  chagrin  they  manifested 
that  their  one  object  is  to  obtain  knowledge  of  and  to  secure  this. 
I  heard  too  the  dire  and  terrible  threats  made  against  both  thou 
and  thy  children.  All  except  the  good  priest  Gonzalez  seemed 
drunken  with  human  blood." 

Marahquirita  laughed  again :  ' '  Gonzales  is  the  prime  mover 
of  the  whole.  The  greatest  fiend  of  them  all,"  she  said. 

"His  soft-spoken  objections  but  inflame  their  desires  the 
more.  Trust  a  woman's  instinct,  Cibolo,  Gonzalez  has  but  one 
pure  thought  and  that  is  his  love  for  the  Princess  Marahquirita. 
That  one  passion  is  pure,  is  genuine. ' ' 

"But  I  heard  him  plead  most  earnestly  for  thee  and  for  thy 
children.  Why  the  man  must  be  a  devil  else. ' ' 

"He  is  of  all  devils,  King  Devil  himself.  His  scarlet  gown 
is  typical  of  his  soul,  and  upon  that  rests  the  blood  of  all  who 
have  perished  by  the  hands  of  the  executioner  of  the  Inquisi- 
tion. ' ' 

"But,  sister,  I  heard  them  threaten  even  him,  and  say  that 
saints  had  before  been  tempted  by  womankind." 

"And  didst  thou  not  note  him  pale  and  quail  and  withdraw 
all  of  his  former  objections  at  this  threat,  as  I  did?  No  Cibolo. 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  411 

The  priest  may  even  deceive  the  God  whom  he  worships,  with 
his  suave  manner  and  his  lying  tongue;  but  he  does  not  deceive 
me.  In  him  through  force  of  contradiction,  I  behold  the  instiga- 
tor of  all.  It  is  unusual  for  the  Inquisition  to  meet  at  this  hour. 
Alas!  Poor  Carrenino!  Didst  hear  my  words  of  encouragement 
to  him  and  my  promise  ? ' ' 

"I  heard  a  voice  which  came  from  I  knew  not  whence,  but 
which  semed  to  fill  the  great  hall  of  Justice.  It  said  'courage,' 
in  that  language  that  is  used  only  by  royalty  and  by  the  higher 
priests  of  our  people.  *  Courage,  brave  Carrenino.  Man  dies  but 
once.  And  thy  death  which  was  appointed  thus  shall  be  bitterly 
avenged  upon  thy  murderers.'  And  Carrenimo  answered  by 
calling  out  thy  name ;  then  smiled  and  died,  while  Gonzalez  trem- 
bled and  paled  as  if  he  too  understood,  and  looked  anxiously 
about  him." 

"Well  may  he  tremble  and  grow  pale.  It  was  I  who  spoke. 
The  power  to  throw  my  voice  wheresoever  I  will  has  been  given 
to  me.  There  is  no  need  now  to  ask  the  Cardinal  for  permission 
to  go  upon  a  journey  for  not  only  canst  thou  not  see  him  for 
many  hours  to  come,  but  these  are  troublous  times  and  he  would 
refuse,  and  perhaps  suspect  thee.  'What  thou  tellest  of  his  treat- 
ment of  thee  but  confirms  me  in  the  belief  that  he  suspects  thee 
even  now.  Let  us  go  forward  that  we  may  be  certain  the 
way  is  clear  and  then  we  will  return  to  the  temple  by  the  nearer 
route  which  is  above  ground  and  fit  thee  out  for  this  expedition. 
And  remember  that  thou  nor  none  will  ever  tread  this  route  again 
until  peace  and  prosperity  is  our  own  again.  For  before  the 
night  sets  in,  I  will  with  mine  own  hand  loose  the  weights  of 
gravel  and  fill  up  the  passages.  So  expect  not  to  return  by  this 
route. ' ' 

The  spring  upon  the  right  hand  was  now  touched  by  Monte- 
zurna  and  they  entered  the  winding  corridor  beyond  which, 
through  many  other  chambers  and  through  seemingly  solid  un- 
broken walls,  they  reached  a  staircase  which  led  them  into  the 
house  of  one  of  the  guardians  of  the  temple  gates.  From  thence 
their  way  was  open,  and  their  return  to  the  temple  was  followed 
by  the  hasty  outfitting  of  the  Emperor  who  was  to  act  the  part 
of  an  humble  runner,  a  lowly  servitor  of  the  people,  who  were 
his  lawful  subjects. 


412  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

He  purified  and  refreshed  himself  and  again  descended  the 
secret  stairway  from  the  guardian's  house,  bearing  with  him 
the  writing  which  Marahquirita  had  prepared  against  the  time 
when  she  might  find  a  trusty  messenger,  and  provided  with  a 
small  supply  of  food  and  water  for  his  own  needs  upon  the  way, 
in  company  with  the  Queen,  he  then  threaded  anew  the  subter- 
ranean passages  but  farther  to  the  north.  At  length  he  reached 
the  doorway  at  the  end  which  led  to  an  opening  directly  under 
the  outer  wall  where  the  thick  trees  hid  him  from  the  view  of 
the  sentinels  both  of  the  Spaniards  and  of  the  Aztecs. 

Marahquirita  waited  here  and  listened  until  she  knew  from 
the  time  that  had  elapsed  since  his  flitting  he  must  have 
safely  reached  a  point  far  beyond  the  outmost  guard.  She  then 
returned  and  as  she  went  she  did  as  she  had  promised.  And 
shute  after  shute  was  opened  by  means  of  the  great  chains  which 
held  them  in  place  and  many  of  the  vaults  and  corridors  were 
instantly  filled  with  loose  sand  and  gravel,  disguising  perfectly 
the  uses  for  which  they  were  intended.  She  could  not  resist  the 
temptation  to  halt  and  enter  the  secret  chamber  of  most  import- 
ance among  them  all  which  were  indeed  secret  chambers,  and  to 
be  present  for  a  last  time  at  the  council  of  the  secret  Inquisition. 
And  well  it  was  for  her  that  she  did,  for  now  she  learned  the 
doom  that  was  intended  for  her  and  her  little  ones.  For  at  last 
the  time  was  fixed  for  the  execution  of  their  hellish  designs.  As 
for  the  rest,  she  had  heard  it  all  before.  Then  indeed  she 
hastened  to  complete  her  work  and  sped  upward  through  the 
temple  vaults. 

What  was  her  terror  to  find  upon  her  return  to  the  temple 
that  the  Inquisition  had,  as  it  were,  forestalled  its  own  decisions, 
and  had  taken  into  the  custody  of  the  church  bailiff  the  Prin- 
cess Marahquirita  and  her  own  little  ones.  "To  be  kept  as 
hostages"  they  told  her. 

She  said  never  a  word,  but  made  her  way  to  the  palace  of 
the  priests,  and  without  one  word  of  explanation  took  her  little 
ones,  each  by  a  hand,  and  led  them  unresisting  back  to  their 
quarters  in  the  temple,  followed  by  the  princess.  None  opposed 
her.  No  one  dared.  But  Gonzalez  was  furious  that  she  set  the 
decree  of  the  dread  Tribunal  at  naught. 

To  all  of  his  messages,  which  grew  into  entreaties  Marah- 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  413 

quirita  returned  but  one  reply :  ' '  Their  Sovereign  requires  their 
attendance  upon  her  person. ' '  It  was  noted  with  fear  and  tremb- 
ling, lest,  indeed,  she  knew  all,  that  the  messengers  of  the  holy 
friars  were  permitted  to  come  no  farther  than  the  lower-most 
terrace  of  the  temple,  where  they  were  dismissed  courteously,  but 
curtly  too.  And  they  went  away  muttering :  ' '  This  woman  is  a 
witch.  She  knows  all  things." 

Well,  the  Spanish  Inquisition  had  a  mode  of  its  own  of  deal- 
ing with  witches,  and  that  night  the  priests  rose  in  a  body,  be- 
seiged  and  surprised  the  guards  of  the  temple,  and  took  queen 
Marahquirita  a  prisoner.  They  could  not,  however,  find  the  re- 
mainder of  the  royal  family,  for  Marahquirita  guessing  their 
object,  had  safely  secreted  them. 

They  locked  the  queen  of  the  Aztecs  in  one  of  the  chambers 
of  the  palace.  Next  morning  they  found  the  door  still  barred 
but  the  Queen  Marahquirita  was  not  within  the  chamber;  and 
looking  upward  toward  the  temple  they  beheld  her  performing 
the  customary  rites  of  her  religion  as  the  first  rays  of  the  sun 
flashed  over  the  eastern  hills. 

Gonzalez  himself  was  non-plused.  He  took  little  stock  in 
witch-craft.  He  was  too  well  skilled  in  the  erratic  movements 
and  tempers  of  the  female  sex  to  be  surprised  at  their  sharper 
wits;  but  this  disappearance  through  locked  and  bolted  doors 
savored  too  strongly  of  the  unreal  for  him  to  disbelieve. 

The  morning  service  ended  the  high  priestess  addressed  her 
priestesses  and  the  few  retainers  who  still  preferred  the  old-time 
ceremonies  to  the  mass  of  the  brotherhood. 

In  a  few  strong  words  she  told  the  story  of  their  threatened 
fate.  A  sacrifice  was  demanded  by  the  gods  of  her  people — a 
human  sacrifice— and  she  was  about  to  offer  it.  What  could  pur- 
chase the  liberty  and  salvation  of  their  great  but  downtrodden 
nation,  if  not  that  demanded  by  the  priests  of  that  conquering 
people?  They  demanded  as  victims  for  their  torture  the  two 
children  whom  the  gods  of  the  Aztecs  had  made  her  own.  To  save 
them  from  the  doom  which  was  certain,  and  to  propitiate  the 
gods  of  the  Aztecs  she  offered  them  up  a  willing  sacrifice — A 
peace  offering. 

The  children  lay  bound  upon  the  table  of  the  shining  altar, 
nude  but  spotless  in  their  perfect  beauty  of  form  and  feature, 


414  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

smiling  up  at  their  mother,  their  priestess,  their  judge  and  their 
executioner. 

The  mother  smiled  back  at  them,  and  her  smile  was  a  ten- 
der caress.  The  Queen  annointed  them.  The  priest  blessed 
them.  The  judge  spoke  a  commending  word  to  the  gods  for 
them.  The  executioner  raised  her  hand,  struck  two  blows  and 
— the  sacrifice  was  completed. 

So  great  was  the  magnetism  of  this  woman's  presence;  so 
overpowering  her  manner;  so  sublime  her  words  and  gestures, 
that  a  spell  was  laid  upon  all,  and  not  one  dissenting  voice  was 
raised.  No  hand  was  raised  to  stay  the  blow.  No  wail  arose  to 
tell  of  sorrow  for  the  two  young  lives  cut  short;  instead  at  a 
signal  from  "She"  who  was  ever  obeyed,  a  shout  of  gladness 
arose  and  of  triumph  and  thanksgiving  for  deliverance  was  now 
assured  to  them.  The  gods  smiled  upon  them  once  again. 

But  before  the  beauteous  forms  of  the  children  could  be 
placed  upon  the  perfumed  fires  of  the  altar  the  alarm  was  given ; 
all  to  late.  Into  the  sacred  temple  of  the  Aztecs  crowded  the 
seventy-and-one  friars,  armed  to  the  teeth,  and  even  the  members 
of  the  Inquisition  cried  out  in  horror  as  the  meaning  of  this 
scene  was  revealed  to  them.  Then  en  masse  they  fell  upon  the 
executioner  and  bound  her  fast,  but  when  they  turned  to  take  up 
the  forms  of  the  little  ones,  as  proof  of  the  mother's  'guilt'  as 
they  called  it,  they  were  nowhere  to  be  found.  Even  in  this  try- 
ing hour  the  wonderful  presence  of  mind  of  Marahquirita  did  not 
desert  her,  and  she  had  but  to  make  a  quick  sign  to  the  nurses 
of  her  slain  children  and  the  forms  which  the  chill  embrace  of 
death  had  not  yet  frozen  into  rigidity,  were  hastily  and  stealthily 
removed. 

Yes.  Queen  Marahquirita  and  her  seventy  priestess  war- 
riors were  in  captivity  to  their  foes.  The  priests  sought  long 
for  the  bodies  of  the  victims  but  in  vain;  and  vainly  did  they 
question  the  Princess  Marahquirita  who  was  wild  with  fear  and 
grief,  and  who  clung  to  the  priest  Gonzales  as  to  her  only 
earthly  friend. 

It  were  better  to  daw  a  veil  over  the  scenes  that  followed— 
except  that  some  things  are  necessary  to  be  told,  else  this  story 
must  be  cut  short,  and  many  things  which  happened  generations 
later,  and  of  which  this  was  as  it  were,  the  seed  from  which 


A  MUSICAL,  MYSTERY  4l5 

sprang  untoward  events  of  a  later  day,  must  have  proven  inex- 
plicable. The  friars  did  not  dare  even  now  to  expose  the  work- 
ings of  the  dread  Inquisition  to  the  people.  That  was  too  far 
removed  from  their  teachings  of  love  and  forgiveness  and  charity. 
So  the  priestly  court  was  held  in  the  palace  itself,  which  judged 
and  condemned  the  Queen  of  La  Gran  Quibira  and  her  priest- 
esses, and  aJl  of  these  were  turned  over  to  the  keeping  of  the  black- 
smith until  the  morrow  when  they  were  to  be  burned  at  the  stake 
in  company  with  the  witch,  their  mistress. 

What  happened  upon  that  night  you  may  guess,  and  what 
brutal  tortures  wrere  inflicted  upon  these  vestal  virgins,  none  so 
horrible  to  body  and  to  soul  as  that  which  deprived  them  of 
their  virginity. 

"She"  who  passed  through  this  terrible  scene  as  in  a  dream, 
centuries  later,  viewing  all  as  something  which  was  familiar  to 
her;  some  long- forgotten  scene  in  which  she  herself  had  taken 
an  active  part,  shrieked  and  groaned  and  cried  out,  in  chorus 
with  the  despairing  accents  of  those  seventy  maidens  who  turned 
their  beseeching  gaze  upon  her  either  in  reproach  or  as  if  expect- 
ing succor  or  revenge  from  her. 

Queen  Marahquirita  alone  was  freed  from  this  indignity. 
First  she  was  closely  watched  by  Gonzalez  himself.  And  then 
they  stood  in  terror  of  her,  these  friars.  They  dared  not  ap- 
proach too  near  this  strange  woman  whom  their  very  awe  and 
terror  bespoke  their  superior. 

But  the  dread  verdict  was  rendered  against  her  too;  and 
the  funeral  pyres  were  laid  during  that  night  of  fearful  expect- 
ancy, filled  with  the  horrible  and  most  mysterious  wails  and 
shrieks  and  groans  which  seemed  to  proceed  from  the  earth  be- 
neath the  people's  feet  and  fill  and  make  heavy  the  air  about 
them  with  bitterest  woe. 

The  bodies  of  the  two  murdered  children  were  not  found, 
else  their  mutilation  by  the  fiends  of  the  Inquisition  would  have 
been  the  inevitable  result.  So  they  but  added  this  to  their 
charges  against  Marahquirita.  "The  witch  had  spirited  them 
away." 

The  sun  was  now  about  to  rise  again  in  all  his  splendor. 
Early  mass  had  been  solemnized  and  the  victims  to  their  greed  and 
lust  were  forced  to  be  present. 


416  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

Marahquirita,  grand  and  majestic  in  her  bearing  seemed  in 
their  midst  what  she  was,  a  Queen— superior  to  all  those  about 
her,  superior  in  all  things.  She  turned  her  unwilling  eyes  upon 
her  priestesses  who  had  been  robbed  of  their  crowning  glory  and 
grasping  the  meaning  of  their  bruised  and  broken  bodies  and 
spirits  at  a  glance,  her  voice  broke  forth,  and  her  hand  was 
raised  first  in  blessing  over  them  (her  words  both  soothed  and 
blessed  them)  then  the  same  hand  and  the  same  voice  pronounced 
and  sealed  a  malediction  so  terrible  upon  the  murderers  of  their 
bodies  and  of  their  souls  that  it  seemed  as  if  the  very  walls  must 
have  been  shaken  and  have  fallen  about  them. 

This  curse  was  thrice  repeated  by  her.  Once  in  the  Aztec 
tongue,  then  in  the  sacred  language  used  only  by  royalty  and 
the  priesthood,  and  then  in  purest  Spanish,  which  made  the 
seventy  priests  writhe  and  shiver  as  if  they  were  but  one. 
Nothing  could  check  her.  Nothing  daunt  her. 

A  voice  spoke  to  her.  It  said :  ' '  Marahquirita.  Thou  canst 
still  be  saved.  Come  to  me.  Confess.  Thou  and  I  can  yet  pur- 
chase thy  liberty  and  thy  life  with  the  secret  of  the  hiding  place 
of  the  treasurers  of  thy  nation. ' ' 

"She"  alone  knew  whence  that  voice  so  broken  as  to  be 
unrecognized  by  all  others,  came. 

The  Queen  lowered  her  own  eyes  which  were  turned  upward 
toward  the  sun,  and  looked  straight  into  the  sleepy  blue  orbs  of 
the  Cardinal,  sleepy  no  longer  but  with  a  look  in  their  fearful 
depths  which  told  plainer  than  words  could  have  done  of  the  all- 
absorbing  passion  of  the  man  for  the  woman  whom  he  adored. 
And  the  expression  in  her  own  grew  sterner,  colder  and  as  he 
thought,  more  deadly  than  ever,  while  her  sarcastic  smile  would 
have  frozen  a  heart  of  fire.  And  when  with  her  glance  she 
turned  his  gaze  from  herself  to  her  sister  who  huddled  close  to 
him  there  was  in  it  a  warning  and  a  threat  so  terrible  that  he 
shivered  again. 

The  procession  was  formed  in  dread  silence,  which  was  to 
escort  the  Queen  and  her  maidens  to  their  doom.  Then  the  sil- 
ence was  broken  by  the  wails  and  prayers  of  the  people  of  the 
faith  of  the  high-priestess,  and  this  in  turn  was  drowned  in  part 
by  the  band  of  the  friars  whose  triumphant  strains  rose  more 
and  more  deafening  upon  the  air. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  417 

The  Queen  had  purified  herself  and  had  dressed  herself  in 
her  priestly  robes  of  office.  A  hot  flush  illumined  the  dusky  pal- 
lor of  her  beautiful  face  for  a  moment  as  her  garments  were  rude- 
ly stripped  from  her  person  and  a  guazy  white  robe  was  thrown 
over  her  which  revealed  rather  than  concealed  the  perfect  out- 
lines of  her  statuesque  figure ;  but  when  they  removed  the  Tiara 
from  her  forehead  (  for  when  did  the  Spaniards  ever  permit  any- 
thing golden  to  be  sacrificed  to  aught  save  their  own  greed  ? )  her 
magnificent  dark  hair  which  caught  in  its  meshes  the  red  and 
golden  tints  of  the  rising  sun  and  held  them  there,  fell  like  a  veil 
over  her  bosom,  which  rose  and  fell  with  the  heart-throbs 
no  human  eye  there  could  believe  beat  the  faster  for  fear  or 
dread  of  the  coming  torture. 

The  friars  had  gone  through  the  mockery  of  baptism.  The 
Queen  laughed  a  scornful  taunting  laugh  and  shook  the  drops  of 
water  from  her  forehead,  while  the  offered  sacrament  she  spat 
back  into  the  face  of  the  officiating  priest. 

Now  she  walked  at  the  head  of  her  own  funeral  procession 
with  stately  grace,  her  undulating  movements  seeming  not  in  the 
least  degree  hampered  by  the  thongs  with  which  her  graceful 
limbs  were  bound.  She  mounted  her  funeral  pyre  with  un- 
daunted mien,  then  turned  and  addressed  her  people  in  a  few 
worda.  This  was  a  generous  woman  and  a  just.  Not  one 
word  of  reproach  did  she  utter  because  of  their  disaffection,  not 
one  word  of  censure  against  the  new  religion  by  which  all  were 
more  or  less  bound.  She  only  pointed  to  her  seventy  young 
priestesses  shorn  of  their  womanly  purity  and  glory  and  said 
that  which  was  equivalent  to  our  own  saying:  "Whom  God 
loveth  He  chastiseth."  And  these  seventy  and  one  women  alone 
of  the  great  nation  had  remained  true  to  the  gods  whom  they 
worshipped. 

Then  they  bound  Queen  Marahquirita  to  the  central  stake 
and  lighted  the  fires  beneath  her.  The  flames  rose  slowly  en- 
circling her  stately  form,  kissing  her  dusky  cheek. 

A  tremor  ran  through  the  assembled  people  and  a  long- 
drawn  sob  escaped  them.  But  in  their  Queen  and  high-priestess 
there  was  no  trembling.  Instead,  with  a  scornful  smile  she  raised 
her  naked  arms  which  gleamed  like  polished  marble  in  the  sun- 
light ;  the  arms  which  they  had  but  now  bound  firmly  to  her  side, 


418  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA. 

and  then  from  without  the  hush  which  fell  upon  friend  and  foe 
alike,  there  came  the  sound  of  her  sweet,  senorous  voice,  not  in 
the  accustomed  mockery  of  the  brave  of  her  race  under  the  tor- 
ture; but  in  a  simple  pean  of  thanks  to  that  fair  God  to  whom 
she  had  dedicated  herself,  that  she  had  been  deemed  worthy  to 
suffer  for  His  name's  sake.  Her  form  never  flinched  from  the 
flames  which  bound  it  about.  Her  gaze  was  rivited  upon  the 
eastern  heavens  where  the  sun  shone  for  a  single  moment  then 
hid  himself  in  darkness,  as  if  awestricken  at  this  terrible  scene 
of  man's  passions  let  loose.  The  Aztecs  bowed  themselves  to  the 
earth,  yet  could  not  take  their  eyes  from  the  face  of  this  heroic 
woman,  whose  sweet  voice  rose  higher  and  higher  in  that  pean  of 
praise.  And  the  Spanish  friars,  too,  gazed  in  awe  and  gloom 
upon  her,  for  th^y  felt  that  their  hopes  of  securing  the  wonderful 
treasures  which  had  led  to  this  dire  deed  of  sacrifice,  were  some- 
how slipping  away  from  them  forever ;  While  no  look  of  worship 
from  her  people  equalled  that  of  the  priest  Gonzalez  whose  blue 
eyes  seemed  glazed  with  the  horror  that  he  dared  not  express  in 
words. 

Then  a  strange  thing  happened.  The  smoke  and  flames 
which  writhed  and  curled  about  the  majestic  form  of  Marah- 
quirita  fell  backward  at  her  feet  and  died  there.  The  raging 
flames  drew  back  of  their  own  accord  and  the  beautiful  form 
appeared  before  them  blackened  it  is  true,  by  the  flames,  but 
scathless.  Yet  Marahquirita  was  dead. 

A  jealous  friar  would  have  rekindled  the  flames,  but  Gon- 
zalez, always  fertile  in  resource,  awakened  suddenly  from  his 
stupor  and  interfered. 

' '  What !  Would  you  throw  away  this  chance  to  win  the  whole 
of  this  rebellious  nation,"  he  cried?  "See  ye  not  that  a  miracle 
has  been  wrought  among  us  this  day.  Use  it  to  your  own  ad- 
vantage. Quick,  brother  Anselmo.  None  so  skilled  as  thou.  Copy 
thou  faithfully  now  the  features  and  tints  of  this  beautiful  be- 
ing whom  God  hath  redeemed  from  the  fires  of  his  church,  and 
purified  by  them  as  well.  By  vesper  hour  the  holy  virgin  must 
take  her  semblance  and  the  infant  Jesus  be  remodeled  to  re- 
semble the  boy  whom  she  slew  but  yester-morn. ' ' 

No  sooner  said  than  done.  And  when  the  whole  populace 
assembled  for  the  evening  prayer,  behold  a  miracle  had  indeed, 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  419 

as  these  simple-minded  people  thought  been  wrought.  For  the 
blessed  Virgin  was  the  image  of  their  High  Priestess  and  they 
could  worship  both  the  future  Montezuma  and  the  Jesus  of  the 
Spaniards  in  one. 

The  sun  rose  upon  a  new  day :  but  scarcely  had  its  first  rays 
crept  to  the  tops  of  the  eastern  mountains,  bathing  them  in  a 
flood  of  light,  when  through  the  outer  gates  which  had  been  sil- 
ently opened  to  them,  there  trooped  the  Aztec  army. 

The  Franciscans  were  all  at  their  early  Mass,  and  the  church 
and  monastery  were  surrounded  and  were  in  the  possession  of 
Hermernehildo  and  his  band  ere  the  sleepy  eyes  of  the  friars  ' 
were  opened  to  the  fact.  Then  Hermernehildo  sought  the  Prin- 
cess Marahquirita  and  heard  of  the  fearful  fate  which  had  over- 
taken his  Queen  and  the  rest  of  his  loved  ones.  He  found  her 
with  the  Cardinal,  who  was  lying  very  ill  at  the  palace.  "111?" 
The  proud  prelate's  heart  was  broken,  his  pride  humbled.  The 
fate  of  that  grandly  beautiful  creature  who  had  read,  but  who 
had  disdained  his  unspoken  love,  had  told  upon  him  to  that  ex- 
tent that  he  felt  he  would  never  rise  again,  and  he  clung  to  the 
Princess  Marahquirita  as  did  she  in  her  helplessness  to  him. 

Hermernehildo  and  his  warrior  band  visited  the  temple 
after  posting  a  strong  guard  over  the  captive  priests.  But  here 
to  their  horror  they  found  the  sacred  fire  extinguished,  the  altar 
stone  cold  and  bare. 

Of  the  seventy  priestesses  who  had  suffered  such  cruel  wrong 
only  twelve  had  suffered  death  with  their  commander.  But  the 
rest  had  been  defiled,  and  none  could  officiate  in  her  stead. 

A  warrior  stepped  from  among  the  throng  and  ascended 
the  golden  throne.  He  took  the  half-burned  brands  from  their 
resting  place,  breathed  upon  them  and  Lo !  they  blazed  anew !  He 
placed  the  rekindled  fire  upon  the  golden  alter,  then  rose  and 
threw  back  his  robes,  and  when  the  people  beheld  the  sleeping 
tortoise  emblazoned  on  his  breast,  they  cried  as  with  one  voice : 
"Cibolo!  Cibolo!  The  truant  Cibolo!"  For  none  other  upon 
the  earth  had  the  power  thus  to  create  fire. 

Then  their  true  high  priest  went  through  the  ceremony  cus- 
tomary at  the  morning  hour,  as  if  he  had  never  forsaken  his 
duties,  or  left  them  to  be  performed  by  a  woman,  but  alone,  for 
there  were  none  to  assist  him  or  to  lighten  his  offices. 


420  LA  GRAN   QUIBIBA 

It  was  very  hard  for  King  Hermernehildo  to  reconcile  his 
duty  with  his  inclination  here,  for  he  had  become  a  true  convert 
to  the  Catholic  faith.  But  justice  must  be  done.  Vengeance, 
because  of  his  murdered  family,  must  be  taken.  A  secret  council 
was  held  and  its  decrees  were  carried  out  to  the  letter.  The 
priests  did  not  understand  what  was  to  be  their  doom.  For  the 
verdict  of  the  Aztec  council  was  read  to  them  only  by  sections, 
as  it  were.  They  were  told  in  the  first  place  that  they  would  be 
compelled  to  restore  the  treasure  which  they  had  stolen  whence  it 
had  been  taken. 

Ytzlacotl  had  been  named  Casique  in  Hermernehildo 's 
stead  by  the  so-called  rulers  of  the  land.  The  wily  traitor  to 
friend,  to  country  and  to  religion  alike,  believed  that  he  had 
well-nigh  gained  his  end ;  and  that  not  only  the  beautiful  Marah- 
quirita  but  her  kingdom  would  in  time  become  his  own.  He  had 
attempted  to  save  her  from  the  doom  which  had  overtaken  her 
as  much  through  his  own  machinations,  as  through  any  other 
cause,  by  claiming  her  as  his  own.  But  he  was  signally  defeated 
in  his  well-laid  schemes  to  win  her  through  the  gratitude  which 
this  would  awaken  in  her  heart,  and  looked  on  in  agony  at  her 
martyrdom.  For  one  also  looked  on  in  agoney  even  greater  than 
his,  who  was  yet  more  powerful  than  he  and  whose  love  for  the 
hapless  Queen  was  greater  by  an  hundred-fold  than  was  his 
own,  yet  who  was  as  powerless  to  save  her. 

When  Hermernehildo  entered  La  Gran  Quibira  and  took 
captive  its  praying  community,  Ytzlacotl  arrayed  in  all  the  pan- 
oply of  his  new  state,  came  forth  to  meet  and  to  greet  him.  No 
thought  of  the  danger  of  his  false  position  seemd  to  occur  to  him. 
When  within  a  short  distance  of  his  true  Sovereign,  he  called  a 
halt  to  his  musicians  and  guards  and  advanced  alone  to  greet 
his  Sovereign  and  friend.  He  came  with  arms  outstretched  for 
the  embrace  he  was  wont  to  receive;  but  when  he  was  with- 
in a  few  steps  of  King  Hermernehildo,  the  latter  raised  his  own 
right  hand  with  an  impressive  gesture  which  halted  him  where 
he  stood,  and  gave  the  signal  to  Hermernehildo 's  own  guards  as 
well,  who  fell  upon  the  traitor  and  before  he  could  give  a  single 
out-cry  they  had  hacked  him  into  a  thousand  pieces.  For  Her- 
mernehildo held  close  to  his  own  bosom  the  last  picture-writing 
which  Marahquirita  had  sent  him,  and  this  told  the  story  of  his 
knave's  treachery  and  ambitions. 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  421 

The  religious  rites  at  an  end  the  council  of  the  Aztecs  ended 
too,  and  Hermemehildo  proceeded  to  carry  its  edicts  into  effect. 
He  had  embraced  the  Catholic  faith,  and  was  more  sin- 
cere and  zealous  in  his  belief  than  were  most  of  his  race 
who  had  been  baptized  in  the  faith.  Yet  it  was  not  possible  to 
brook  the  indignity  offered  to  the  religion  of  his  fore-fathers  and 
to  his  own  family  and  to  his  sovereign  (for  Marahquirita  was 
that  in  her  own  right.  The  sovereign  being  his  only  as  the 
consort  of  Marahquirita  and  not  by  right  of  inheritance.) 

And  he  said:  "No  penalty  is  too  great  for  the  falsity  of 
friends  or  the  falsity  of  priests."  For  these  were  in  reality  his 
guests  and  owed  all  of  their  good  fortune  to  him.  And  he  now 
understood  that  in  keeping  them  here  against  the  will  of  Marah- 
quirita he,  himself,  had  been  the  true  cause  of  the  sacrifice  and 
death  of  both  her  and  her  children. 

The  people  mourned  in  sack-cloth  and  ashes  within  the  great 
temple  and  within  their  own  dwellings.  While  the  army  with 
their  warrior  king  at  their  head,  carried  out  the  sentence.  None 
other  were  permitted  to  enter  within  the  wall  which  separated 
the  quarters  of  the  Aztecs  from  those  of  the  Franciscans,  where 
hourly  could  be  heard  the  requiem  mass  chanted,  by  the  priests 
over  their  own  dead,  and  although  each  time  it  commenced  anew, 
the  Aztecs  exchanged  significant  glances  as  much  as  to  say:  "An- 
other has  been  executed"  they  spake  no  word  of  comment.  But 
there  were  no  executions  going  on  within  the  limits  of  the  church 
community  walls,  for  it  was  but  under  this  guise  that  the  stolen 
treasures  were  being  restored  to  the  guardianship  of  the  dead 
Casiques  from  whose  keeping  it  had  been  wrested. 

The  hours  usually  chosen  for  this  restoration  were  those  di- 
rectly after  the  setting  of  the  sun.  Then  the  procession  of  the 
hooded  friars  formed  within  the  church,  that  grand  and  beauti- 
ful structure  which  was  but  newly  finished  and  which  was  their 
pride  and  their  glory,  A  coffin  filled  with  the  stolen  riches  and 
with  the  riches  likewise  which  had  been  the  gift  of  Hermemehildo 
and  of  his  generous  Queen  as  well,  was  placed  in  their  midst.  This 
was  meant  to  deceive  the  chance  spy  into  believing  this  to  be  a 
real  funeral  procession,  and  issued  therefrom  with  the  customary 
lights  and  music  used  by  them  in  the  burial  of  the  Catholic 
dead.  These  processions  filed  through  lines  of  soldiery  which 


422  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

noted  their  every  movement,  and  rebuked  any  attempt  to  com- 
municate with  outsiders,  but  these  attempts  were  few  and  con- 
fined to  some  poor  wretch  to  whom  some  presentiment  of  his  own 
overshadowing  doom  had  been  unhappily  given.  For  the  priests 
were  credulous  and  Hermernehildo  had  ever  proven  himself  to 
be  strong  in  the  faith,  so  they  for  the  most  part  believed  them- 
selves to  be  under  his  immediate  protection  as  they  were  under 
his  guard.  Hermernehildo  had  told  them  as  a  state  secret  which 
he  was  betraying  for  their  good,  that  the  whole  of  the  Indian 
race  would,  at  the  full  of  another  moon,  rise  in  open  rebellion 
against  their  conquerors,  that  every  Spaniard  priest  would  be 
driven  from  the  land,  and  that  it  were  therefore  better  for  them- 
selves that  the  gold  to  which  they  laid  claim  should,  like  the 
rest,  be  safely  stored  away  against  their  own  return  should  the 
Spaniards  again  regain  the  mastery  as  they  had  so  often  done 
before  in  the  petty  insurrections  which  seemed  never  to  have 
ceased.  They  even  acted  upon  what  they  believed  to  be  the  ne- 
cessity of  leaving  some  one  to  guard  the  tombs  to  deceive  any 
chance  looker-on. 

It  was  a  strange  scene— this  burial  of  the  treasure.  Night 
after  night  the  bugles  of  Hermernehildo  sounded,  just  as  the 
sun  went  down.  This  was  the  signal  not  only  for  the  priestly 
procession  to  form  within  the  walls  of  the  great  church,  but  for 
every  Aztec  without  the  walls  to  hasten  to  the  safe  shelter  of 
their  own  great  temple,  or  of  their  own  dwellings.  At  the  third 
bugle-call  the  chanting  of  the  requiem  was  heard;  the  scent 
of  the  burning  incense  filled  the  air;  and  when  the  bogus  rites 
within  the  church  were  duly  solemnized  over  what  appeared  to 
be  the  coffined  dead;  the  double  line  of  soldiery  was  formed, 
and  between  these,  heavily  armed,  filed  the  procession  of  the 
friars,  chanting  as  they  marched  toward  the  burial-place  of  their 
own  dead.  (The  tombs  of  the  ancient  Casiques,  which  had  since 
their  clearing  been  set  aside  for  their  solemn  need,)  and  high 
above  the  voices  of  all  the  rest,  clear  and  full  of  sweetest  har- 
mony, rose  the  voice  of  the  priest  Gonzalez ;  sweet  as  the  notes  of 
a  flute,  yet  wiih  that  quaver  which  age  gives,  and  that  of  the 
youngest  of  the  friars,  Anselmo,  whose  rich  and  powerful  bari- 
tone was  the  pride  and  wonder  of  them  all.  Brother  Anselmo 
led,  while  the  rear  of  the  procession  was  brought  up  by  the 


A  MUSICAL,  MYSTERY  423 

palanquin  of  the  Cardinal,  who  was  himself  ill  perhaps  unto 
death.  The  pallbearers  bent  beneath  the  weight  of  the  burden 
they  were  made  to  carry,  which  was  each  night  deposited  in  one 
or  other  of  the  tombs.  Here  they  found  that  brother  whose  body 
they  were  supposed  to  bury,  awaiting  to  receive  them  and  their 
burden ;  and  there  they  left  him,  as  they  supposed,  upon  guard 
over  their  ill-gotten  gains  with  a  supply  of  food  and  drink.  Not 
for  one  moment  did  they  suspect  the  truth,  that,  as  their  proces- 
sion wended  its  way  back  to  the  palace  and  monastery,  the  great 
stone  was  rolled  into  the  opening  and  sealed  there  for  all  time  to 
come.  The  story  went  about  among  the  Aztecs  that  some  dread 
and  terrible  disease  had  broken  out  within  the  palace  walls  and 
that  it  carried  off  at  least  one  victim  each  day,  and  this  story  was 
corroberated  by  the  daily  falling  off  of  the  number  of  the  holy 
friars. 

Gonzalez,  indeed,  suspected,  but  what  could  the  Cardinal 
do  ?  He  succeeded  in  giving  warning  to  the  two  whom  alone  he 
was  able  to  trust  with  this  horrible  suspicion,  and  these  two  with 
the  help  of  one  of  the  natives  succeeded  in  making  their  escape. 

When  all  of  the  treasure  was  buried  there  yet  remained 
twenty  of  the  holy  friars,  and  these  were  deliberately  walled  up 
alive  to  guard  their  riches.  Then  Hermernehildo  escorted  the 
Cardinal  to  a  small  vaulted  chamber  in  the  very  midst  of  the 
labyrinth  of  subterranean  chambers. 

"Because  of  thy  guardianship  over  the  Princess  Marah- 
quirita,  reverend  father,"  he  said,  "Thou  shalt  escape  this 
doom.  Here  are  food  and  drink  sufficient  to  last  thee  for  a  fort- 
night. I  will  leave  the  stone  at  the  entrance  ajar,  so  that  thou 
shalt  have  fresh  air,  and  when  the  temper  of  my  people  have 
subsided  somewhat  I  may  perhaps  be  able  to  release  thee  openly, 
or,  if  not,  I  will  secure  thy  safe  and  secure  retreat." 

The  Princess  chose  to  bear  her  old  friend  company,  and  lit- 
tle objection  was  made  to  this  by  Hermernehildo,  who  really 
wished  to  save  the  life  of  the  old  Priest,  or  if  he  were  in  truth 
so  ill  as  he  seemed,  to  permit  him  to  die  a  natural  death,  and  the 
attachment  of  Marahquirita  to  the  Cardinal  seemed  to  guarantee 
his  safety.  The  priest  had  read  the  love  of  these  two  for  one 
another  upon  their  first  meeting  in  his  presence,  and  exulted 
over  it.  For  himself,  his  passion  for  the  martyred  Queen,  and 


424  LA   GRAN    QUIBIRA 

the  horror  of  her  fate,  had  thrown  him  into  a  fever  .which  was 
rapidly  consuming  him.  So  the  vault  was  rendered  yet  more 
habitable  and  the  strangely  assorted  pair — the  aged  but  still 
handsome  priest,  and  the  beautiful  young  Princess  Marahquirita 
— took  up  there  their  temporary  abode,  since  the  custom  of  his 
people  forbade  the  King  Consort  to  woo  the  Princess  who  was 
his  own  wife's  sister,  under  a  certain  limit  of  time.  He  thought 
too  that  she  would  soon  tire  of  the  close  confinement,  and  would 
join  the  other  women  in  the  temple. 

Then  what  happened? 

Ah!  The  story  is  a  sad  one  throughout.  Hermernehildo 
busied  himself  with  the  affairs  of  the  nation.  It  had  been  de- 
cided to  render  this,  the  sacred  city  of  Culhaucan,  the  resting 
place  of  their  dead,  uninhabitable  by  man,  that  those  of  these 
their  most  honored  dead  who  were  yet  undisturbed  might  re- 
main sio  to  the  end  of  time.  This  was  the  work  of  many  weary 
weeks.  First  they  meted  out  to  the  beautiful  sister  Eulalie  the 
fate  which  the  priests  had  accorded  to  Queen  Marahquirita  but 
with  more  satisfactory  results.  The  beautiful  sister  was  a  brave 
woman  as  well,  and  bravely  did  she  bear  the  torture,  scorning  to 
weep  or  to  cry  aloud,  but  the  beautiful  form  writhed  and 
shriveled  and  blackened  and  was  consumed  by  the  ravenous 
flames.  Only  with  her  dying  breath  she  uttered  one  long-drawn- 
out  shriek  of  mortal  agony,  the  echo  of  which  has  never  ceased 
but  can  be  heard  to  this  day,  growing  louder  and  more 
distinct  the  nearer  the  time  to  that  dread  anniversary  of  tortured 
innocence,  for  she  bore  a  reverent  love  for  the  hapless  Queen  and 
her  lovely  young  sister  and  had  opposed  with  all  her  powers  the 
indignities  offered  them  by  the  friars. 

Then  the  Aztecs  cut  off  the  water  supply  from  the  church 
community  and  the  retainers  of  the  priests  were  left  to  die  of 
thirst.  One  by  one  the  wells  were  filled  and  sealed  over,  and 
the  spot  hidden  under  masses  of  debris  and  planted  over  with 
trees  and  shrubs.  Only  the  main  supply,  the  great  spring  from 
which  the  reservoirs  had  been  filled,  was  left  to  the  last  for  their 
own  needs,  while  they  still  occupied  the  place.  Then  they,  with 
their  own  hands  deliberately  demolished  the  beautiful  temple 
and  the  fair  mausoleums,  refusing  however  to  sully  their  hands 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  425 

with  the  work  of  the  Spanish  brothers.  Perhaps  this  was  due  to 
superstition,  or  Hennernehildo  was  imbued  with  the  Catholic 
faith  to  a  far  greater  extent  than  he  himself  supposed.  Be  that 
as  it  may,  the  church  and  monastery  were  left  intact,  where  all 
else  was  ruined. 

The  work  of  destruction  ended  and  the  people  ready  for  the 
march,  Hermernehildo  sought  among  the  women  for  the  Princess 
Marahquirita  and  found  her  not.  Inquiry  showed  that  she  had 
not  been  seen  since  that  day  when  she  had  been  left  to  keep  the 
old  priest  company.  He  rushed  to  the  vaults.  He  descended  to 
the  second  tier  of  the  tombs  and  there,  what  a  sight  met  his 
gaze?  The  Cardinal  was  dead.  He  must  have  died  soon  after 
he  had  been  left  there;  and  beside  him,  still  holding  his  dead 
hand  in  hers,  was  the  hapless  Princess,  dead  too,  but  with  a  look 
of  such  terror  in  her  glazed  eyes  as  showed  that  she  had  gone  mad 
with  fear  and  of  starvation  and  thirst,  for  of  the  food  and  drink 
that  had  been  left,  not  one  bit  remained.  He  who  had  been  left 
in  charge  over  the  two  had  disappeared,  and  the  nurse  who  had 
tended  her  in  her  childhood  and  later  the  children  of  the  royal 
household,  and  who  had  been  told  to  bring  her  away,  were  miss- 
ing, too. 

After  long  search,  one  was  found  who  led  Hermernehildo  to 
one  of  the  underground  vaults  within  the  community  walls, 
and,  to  his  joy,  showed  him  his  own  little  daughter,  Marah- 
quirita, who  had  survived  the  blow  struck  by  the  Spanish  dag- 
ger her  mother  and  priestess  had  used.  The  child,  recovered 
from  the  cruel  wound,  was  nestled  among  the  branches  of  sweet 
herbs  and  grasses  in  one  corner,  while  the  body  of  her  brother, 
which  decay  had  as  yet  refused,  as  by  a  miracle,  to  touch,  re- 
posed upon  a  small  altar  erected  by  the  nurses.  Beneath  the 
wall,  which  separated  this  chamber  from  the  one  which  ad- 
joined it  upon  the  east,  was  the  body  of  the  second  nurse,  her 
head  upon  one  side  of  the  broken  wall  and  her  lower  limbs 
protruding  into  the  chamber  beyond.  One  can  but  speculate 
how  death  overtook  her,  while  apparently  making  her  escape 
from  the  tombs ,  for  it  was  fully  two  hundred  and  twenty  years 
later  that  the  hand  of  an  American  woman  uncovered  the  two 
bodies,  after  Hermernehildo  and  his  warriors  had  buried  them 
as  they  found  them,  as  was  the  custom  of  the  day,— those  of  the 


426  LA   GRAN   QUIBIBA 

young  prince  and  of  the  faithful  nurse ;  and  Marguerite  Jerome 
knew  not,  but  could  only  guess  at  the  ending  of  this  incident— 
while  in  reality  she  was  living  the  whole  story  over  again,  after 
the  lapse  of  all  those  two  hundred  and  twenty  years — and  was 
puzzled  to  know  whether  in  these  familiar  scenes  she  herself 
had  played  the  part  of  the  high  priestess  and  queen,  or  that  of 
the  Princess  Marahquirita,  for  in  her  nature  she  seemed  to 
combine  the  characteristics  of  both,  since  she  possessed  the 
grand  self-sacrificing  spirit  of  Queen  Marahquirita,  blended 
with  the  timid,  loving  nature  of  the  sweet  young  princess. 

Then  Hermernehildo  took  his  little  daughter  in  his  arms 
and  went  his  way,  leaving  the  remainder  of  the  work  of  devasta- 
tion to  the  Cibolo,  who  followed  him  soon.  Leaving  the  ground 
to  the  echoes,  awakened  at  intervals  by  the  grand  choir-band 
of  the  friars;  the  rich  baritone  of  Brother  Anselmo;  the  sweet 
quavering  treble  of  the  cardinal,  Gonzalez ;  the  sonorous  sweet- 
ness of  the  tones  of  the  voice  of  Marahquirita  and  the  agonized 
shriek  of  Sister  Eulalie,  besides  the  many  echoes  of  the  voices 
of  the  past.  And  the  history  of  the  Aztec  nation  was  here  lost 
for  many  generations,  until  the  curiosity  of  woman  ferreted 
it  out,  and  the  Chief  Ytzlacotl,  the  tenth  of  his  name,  betrayed 
his  sacred  trust  to  her — to  this  woman,  to  whom  it  was  given 
that  his  nation  might  yet  be  redeemed  from  its  slavery,  not  only 
to  the  white  race,  but  to  ignorance  and  to  superstition— this 
woman,  to  whom  it  was  given  to  hear  but  not  yet  to  understand 
in  full  the  meaning  of  these  oft-repeated  sounds. 

[END  OP  THE  INTERLUDE.] 


AZTEC    SACRIFICIAL    STONE. 

— [Courtesy   of    The    Pictorial    American. 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  427 

ACT  V. 

CANTO  THE  FIRST. 
"THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  END." 

"All  aboard!" 

It  was  but  the  customary  trainsmen 's  cry,  yet  it  fell  like 
a  strain  of  sweetest  music  upon  the  ear  of  the  solitary  woman, 
who  had  been  the  last  to  enter  the  railway  car.  She  was 
ushered  to  her  chair  in  the  middle  of  the  crowded  car,  which 
had  been  provided  for  her  by  the  kind  forethought  of  the  friend 
who  had  made  her  present  journey  a  possibility,  and  which  had 
been  reserved  by  the  busy  conductor.  She  shook  the  snow 
from  her  damp  garments,  removed  her  wet  over-boots,  placed 
her  traveling  hat  and  parcels  in  the  rack  above  her  head 
wrapped  her  grey  cloak  more  closely  about  her  shoulders,  then 
sank  back  into  the  depths  of  her  reclining  chair,  and,  as  was 
usual  with  her,  "made  the  best  of  things."  She  looked  about 
her  with  interest.  Her  eyes  were  wide  and  bright,  yet  they  saw 
but  little.  She  saw,  indeed,  that  the  car  was  full  of  people, 
but  the  forms,  which  flitted  too  and  fro  along  the  aisle,  were 
shadowy  and  indistinct  to  her  imperfect  vision.  The  sound 
of  their  voices  in  laughter  and  in  conversation  came  to  her  ear, 
mingling  in  a  strange  unreal  confusion  with  the  noises  of  the 
fast-moving  train. 

But  no  one  spoke  to  her.  None  gave  her  greeting.  And 
that  terrible  sense  of  loneliness,  which  had  become  her  constant 
companion  of  late  years,  fell  like  a  pall  over  her  sanguine 
hopes  for  the  future,  "Alone!"  It  is  to  most  the  saddest 
word  in  our  language;  and,  to  the  woman  watching  with  un- 
seeing eyes  the  phantom-like  faces  and  forms  about  her,  whose 
helplessness  rendered  her  more  than  another  dependent  upon 
the  society  of  others,  a  most  terror-inspiring  one.  That  feel- 
ing of  having  been  set  apart  for  some  great  work,  which  had 
once  been  her  glory  and  her  pride,  had  become  a  horrid  night- 


428  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

mare  to  her,  chilling  and  subduing,  but  not  daunting  her  in- 
domitable spirit. 

But  her  trials  and  sufferings  had  so  told  upon  her  physical 
strength,  she  found  it  harder  and  yet  more  hard  to  "kick 
against  the  pricks."  It  seemed  that  in  every  new  occurrence 
of  her  life  there  lurked  the  temptation  to  turn  aside  from  or 
to  abandon  what  she  had  accustomed  herself  to  regard  as  her 
God-appointed  mission.  But  through  all  her  unaccustomed 
exertions  to  earn  that  necessary  daily  bread,  which  had  all 
through  her  life  been  supplied  to  her,  she  never  for  a  moment 
lost  sight  of  her  chosen  work. 

Like  a  little  child  she  questioned  all.  She  had  met  and 
conversed  with  the  clergy  of  every  denomination  and  of  every 
creed.  Each,  it  seemed  to  her,  had  given  to  her  some  new  and 
beautiful  thought ;  but  to  her  dismay  these  grew  more  vague  and 
mystical.  All  alike  seemed  to  worship  an  unnameable,  inde- 
scribable something,  without  body,  which  they  called  "God," 
who  presided  over  a  heaven  of  like  indefiniteness,  and  their 
ideas  of  death  and  what  came  after  death  were  as  indistinct 
and  unformed  as  those  of  an  ignorant,  untaught  child.  They 
were  all  content  to  live  out  their  lives,  feeling  that  if  they 
kept  themselves  free  from  all  the  greater  sins  of  life,  they 
might  safely  leave  the  rest  to  God. 

She  laughed,  as  she  remembered  how  she  had  shocked  one 
of  these  divines  by  saying  ittitably:  "Thy  faith  is  sublime  in 
its  child-like  trust  and  dependence  upon  this  unknown  God 
of  thine.  But  that  state  of  ecstatic,  beatific  idiocy  thou  de- 
scribest  as  the  Heaven  of  'seeing  God'  does  not  satisfy  my 
mind.  The  Infinite  need  not  be  indefinite. ' ' 

She  had  been  sent  to  the  hospital  to  have  removed  some 
unnatural  inward  growth  that  had  long  been  sapping  her 
physical  strength,  and  which  her  physician  assured  her  would 
otherwise,  in  a  very  short  time,  prove  fatal. 

Under  the  influence  of  the  heavy  doses  of  ether  adminis- 
tered to  her,  she  had  lain  unconscious  for  many  hours,  appar- 
ently dead  to  the  world.  She  knew  her  soul  had  not  been 
dead,  nor  even  stupefied,  during  this  time,  but  had  only  been 
driven  temporarily  from  out  her  body,  and  that  it  had  traveled 
to  the  very  spot  to  which  her  present  journey  was  taking  her. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  429 

There  she  had  gone  down  into  that  subterranean  passage,  which 
she  had  insisted  was  the  true  entrance  to  the  subterranean 
vaults  in  which  the  long-sought-for  church  relics  had  been 
stored. 

But  here  she  had  found  the  whole  place  honeycombed  with 
passages  or  underground  streets,  and  with  her  accustomed  ill 
luck,  she  had  chosen  the  wrong  one,  which  led  not  into  the 
center  of  the  hill  beyond,  as  it  seemed,  but  ended  abruptly 
after  two  buildings  had  been  passed.  She  seemed  to  be  accom- 
panied by  a  child  of  some  twelve  years  or  so,  as  she  determined 
by  its  height  and  voice,  rather  than  by  its  face,  which  for 
some  reason  was  studiously  turned  from  her.  She  could  not, 
however,  for  the  life  of  her,  say  whether  this  child  were  a  boy 
or  girl.  The  voice  might  have  belonged  to  either. 

Together  they  had  threaded  the  passages  enclosed  by  blank 
walls  and  roofed  over  by  great  stone  arches  into  this  particular 
street,  upon  which  was  situated  the  blacksmith's  forge,  and  in 
odd  juxtaposition,  the  school.  An  anvil,  which  looked  as  if  it 
had  never  been  used,  stood  in  front  of  the  forge,  which  they 
would  have  entered,  but  before  they  could  more  than  glance  into 
what  seemed  its  barren  blackness,  the  doorway  was  blocked  by 
the  burly  form  of  the  blacksmith  himself,  who  looked  most 
savagely  at  them  and  denied  them  admittance.  The  woman 
remembered  every  feature  of  his  threatening  face.  She 
would  know  that  burly  figure  and  brutal,  red  face  should  she 
ever  meet  with  them  again.  She  even  noted  that  he  was  at- 
tired in  a  snuff-colored  suit  of  recent  date,  and  that  instead  of 
the  blacksmith's  regulation  leathern  apron,  he  wore  that  of 
the  butcher,  one  of  spotless  white. 

With  her  accustomed  bravado,  she  was  about  to  enter,  in 
spite  of  his  angry  protest  of  action,  rather  than  of  words,  or, 
perhaps,  because  of  it,  but  the  attitude  he  then  assumed  was 
so  threatening,  the  movement  by  which  he  ordered  her  to 
"pass  on"  was  so  authoritative  that  she  obeyed,  much  against 
her  will,  and  because  the  child,  by  whom  she  was  accompanied, 
was  in  an  agony  of  terror.  They  passed  the  school-room  and 
went  a  few  hundred  feet  beyond.  But  here  they  found  that 
the  street  ended,  having  been  walled  across.  Turning  about, 
they  went  up  to  the  door  of  the  school-room.  The  teacher  met 


430  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

them,  evidently  intending  to  deny  them  entrance,  as  the  black- 
smith had  done.  But  the  woman,  who  had  succumbed  to 
brute  force,  was  not  to  be  daunted  by  one  of  her  own  sex, 
and,  with  a  commanding  gesture,  she  waived  the  school-mis- 
tress aside.  The  latter  obeyed  with  a  terrified  stare  into  the 
countenance  of  the  woman,  as  if  she  recognized  and  cringed 
before  one  whom  she  had  been  accustomed  to  obey,  and  the 
woman  stepped  past  her  into  the  school-room. 

This  was  furnished  at  the  upper  end  with  a  table  which 
stood  in  front  of  a  single  high-backed  chair  of  cumbersome 
solidity,  with  solid  back  and  arms  finished  with  a  heavy  mould- 
ing of  the  same  hard  cedar  wood.  And  around  the  wall  a 
single  row  of  the  same  chairs  was  closely  ranged.  Many  of 
these,  like  that  of  the  teacher,  who  still  stood  near  the  door, 
as  if  meditating  flight,  were  empty,  except  that  upon  them  were 
piled,  in  great  disorder,  books  and  slates  and  papers  without 
number,  while  upon  some  twenty  or  thirty  of  these  children  of  all 
ages  were  seated,  who  seemed  to  have  been  suddenly  overcome 
with  sleep,  which  had  overtaken  them  in  some  strange  un- 
natural attitude  or  other.  The  woman  glanced  at  them,  smil- 
ing at  their  uncouth  attitudes,  then,  as  if  accustomed  to  the 
place,  went  toward  a  panel  in  the  white  stuccoed  wall.  There 
was  a  sudden  cry  from  the  teacher,  as  of  warning,  but  the 
woman  heeded  it  not,  and  pressed  a  spring,  when  the  panel 
slid  aside,  revealing  a  small  iron  door  set  deep  in  the  wall. 

She  took  a  key  from  a  niche  beside  it  and  unlocked  this 
door,  then  turned  the  latchet,  and  was  about  to  throw  open  the 
door,  when  a  second  cry  of  alarm  from  the  teacher  caused 
the  woman  to  look  around,  and  to  her  amazement,  she  saw 
that  each  reclining  figure  of  the  scholars  had  assumed  a  rigid, 
upright  attitude,  and  that  all  were  staring  at  her  with  beseech- 
ing dead  eyes.  She  echoed  the  cry  of  the  teacher  with  one  of 
pitying  horror,  and  turned  toward  her  with  a  threatening  ges- 
ture, before  which  the  other  woman  quailed  and  quaked  and 
cringed,  as  if  in  deadly  terror. 

What  did  this  slaughter  of  the  innocents  mean?  She 
noticed  now  that  the  book  which  the  teacher  held  in  her  hand 
was  opened  toward  herself.  She  bent  forward  to  scan  the 
printed  page,  but  had  read  only  these  words:  "Thou  art 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  431 

she  who  hast  been  chosen  for  this  work,"  when  she  was 
startled  by  a  sharp  click,  and  on  turning  about  quickly,  she 
found  that  not  only  had  the  door  and  panel  closed,  but  the  wall 
in  which  they  had  appeared  presented  the  same  blank  surfac<> 
as  the  rest  of  the  wall.  The  woman  had  not  the  courage  to 
again  approach  these  rigidly  upright  childish  forms,  and  so 
she  passed  by  that  of  the  teacher,  and  on,  out  into  the  passage, 
disappointed  and  angry  with  herself,  because  of  her  own  un- 
wonted timidity. 

The  burly  blacksmith  still  stood  in  his  doorway,  with 
arms  raised,  and  with  a  coarse,  red  hand  upon  either  sill,  and 
he  greeted  hert  as  she  passed  on  in  haughty  silence,  with  a 
brutal  leer.  She  made  her  way  up  the  winding  staircase,  which 
led  to  the  surface  of  the  earth,  alone;  for  somehow  she  seemed 
to  have  lost  her  young  companion  upon  the  way. 


432  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

CANTO  THE   SECOND. 

"LIFE'S  HOPES  RENEWED/' 

"'Why,  it's  three  o'clock,"  she  said  aloud,  and  the  Sister 
who  bent  over  her  asked  how  she  knew  this. 

"The  hall  clock  has  but  just  struck  the  hour,"  as  indeed 
it  had. 

As  soon  as  she  was  able  to  leave  her  bed,  she  begged  that 
the  hospital  priest  would  visit  her  in  his  regular  hospital 
rounds.  This  hospital  was  a  grand  one,  belonging  to  the  Sis- 
terhood of  the  Order  of  St.  Francis.  It  had  a  beautiful  little 
chapel  attached,  and  kept  its  resident  priest. 

The  priest,  who,  when  he  came  explained  that  it  was  not 
customary  with  him  to  intrude  upon  Protestant  patients,  was  a 
man  of  more  liberal  habits  of  thought  and  action  than  were  most 
of  his  calling.  The  woman  was  charmed  with  his  seeming 
earnestness,  and  he  proved  very  willing  to  attempt  to  solve  her 
doubts  upon  many  points,  and  especially  to  explain  to  her  the 
tenets  of  the  Roman  Catholic  faith.  There  was  much  that 
was  beautiful  and  poetic  in  this  faith,  and  which  appealed  di- 
rectly to  her  heart.  She  was  able  to  attend  the  early  Christ- 
mas mass,  but  she  could  not  explain  to  herself  the  sudden  fear 
which  took  possession  of  her  upon  first  entering  that  little 
chapel,  bright  and  dazzling  from  its  cleanliness,  its  varnish 
and  its  electric  lights.  It  was  a  feeling  as  of  being  cast  down 
forcibly  into  the  black  depths  of  a  fathomless  abyss.  She  had 
been  present  at  the  Christmas  festivities  of  the  evening  before, 
and  among  the  many  Sisters  and  patients,  she  had  more  than 
ever  felt  that  sense  of  loneliness  stealing  away  the  enjoyment  of 
the  present  hour.  She  had  somehow  been  set  apart  here  as  else- 
where. Still  she  munched  the  candied  fruits  of  the  beauti- 
fully adorned  Christmas-tree,  although  they  had  for  her  very 
much  the  flavor  of  "dead  sea  apples,"  and  had  stored  away 
upon  its  couch  of  downy  cotton,  the  tiny  black  baby  that  had 
fallen  to  her  lot  as  a  keepsake  and  a  reminder  of  her  stay  in 
this  place,  which,  but  for  the  daily  visits  of  the  priest,  must 
have  become  irksome  beyond  endurance. 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  433 

She  delighted  to  hear  the  melodious  voice  of  the  priest 
grow  soft  and  tender  and  sweet,  as  he  pronounced  with  ten- 
derest  devotion,  the  name  of  "Jesus,"  or  that  of  the  "Virgin 
Mary,"  and  was  just  as  pleased  to  note  the  stern  severity 
of  its  tones  when  she  dared  to  laugh  at  some  of  the  more  strained 
doctrines  and  opinions  he  advanced  in  his  pleasingly  dogmatic 
manner. 

When  was  there  ever  a  time  when  the  woman  did  not 
laugh.  The  woman  was  a  new  revelation  to  the  priest,  with 
her  eager  earnestness  about  the  truths  of  religion,  her  bright 
fancies  and  her  sarcasms  and  her  laughter.  And  what  wonder 
if  he  came,  upon  each  of  his  daily  rounds,  to  instruct  her  in 
the  one  faith  as  he  believed  it  to  be,  and  to  have  a  merry  chat 
over  the  events  of  the  hour.  He  never  suspected  what  the  woman 
knew,  that  his  every  movement  was  jealously  watched  by  the 
over  zealous  Sisters,  who  perhaps  had  every  right  to  object 
to  his  visits  to  a  heretic.  The  spirit  of  mischief  possessed  her 
here  as  elsewhere  and  she  felt  that  she  would  have  given  worlds, 
had  she  possessed  them,  for  the  loan  of  one  of  his  cassocks  that 
the  untimely  nightly  visits  of  some  one  or  other  of  the  Holy 
Sisters  who  were  strangers  to  her  might  bear  fruit.  Yet  she 
knew  that  she  could  never  forget  the  beautiful  teachings  of 
the  faith,  which,  although  it  appealed  more  strongly  to  her 
love  for  the  beautiful  and  the  poetic  than  most  other  creeds 
had  done,  was  yet  unsatisfactory  to  her.  For  in  this  too,  she 
was  called  upon  to  believe  in  that  nameless  God  in  an  ideal 
heaven  and  a  realistic  hell.  She  laughed  a  little  now  and  blushed 
a  little,  too,  as  she  remembered  the  air  of  the  courtier  with 
which  he  had  tossed  into  her  hands  the  gift  of  a  rosary,  a  pretty 
little  white  and  silvered  toy,  and  said  that  it  would  have  pleased 
him  had  he  been  able  to  transform  it  into  pure  silver  and  pearls. 
But  she  listened  in  unfeigned  delight  to  his  revelations  of  the 
mysteries  of  the  joyful,  the  sorrowful,  and  the  glorious 
rosaries.  The  conception  was  full  of  poetic  interest,  and  she 
obediently  repeated  the  "Hail  Marys,"  after  him  with  down- 
cast eyes  and  truly  devout  air. 

Of  course  only  "good"  could  come  of  all  this.  And  the 
rosary  which  the  priest  had  tossed  over  her  bowed  head  never 
left  her  person  after  this. 

She  had  said :  "I  will  wear  it  as  a  charm  against  all  evil,  and 


434  LA  GRAN  QUIBIBA 

perhaps  the  true  belief  will  come  upon  me  unawares."  And  as 
the  train  sped  forward,  she  touched  the  snow-white  crucifix 
which  lay  upon  her  bosom  and  laughed  lightly  as  she  seemed 
to  see  him  once  again  as  he  offered  this  gift  to  her  acceptance, 
and  she  thought  of  this  teacher  whom  she  had  learned  to  love, 
as  well  as  his  teachings,  which  had  so  enlightened  and  enlivened 
her  otherwise  dreary  and  wearisome  convalescence.  How  charm- 
ing had  been  his  haughty,  courtly,  dictatorial  air,  which  savored 
more  of  the  military  than  of  priesthood.  She  had  told  him  so 
once,  and  learned  that  in  his  early  youth  he  had  indeed  served 
for  a  time  in  the  standing  army  of  the  country  of  his  nativity. 

She  had  been  restless  and  dissatisfied  for  some  days.  It  had 
seemed  to  her  that  there  was  nothing  more  for  her  to  learn  in 
this  new  creed,  and  she  was  not  satisfied. 

She  had  insisted  upon  attending  midnight  mass  with  which 
the  New  Year  and  the  New  Century  were  to  be  ushered  in,  and 
that,  in  defiance  of  the  prohibition  of  some  of  the  Sisters  who 
looked  upon  her  with  suspicion  and  distrust.  The  service  was 
very  beautiful.  The  melodious  voice  of  the  priest  seemed  more 
sweet  than  was  its  wont ;  the  grand  music  of  the  choir  of  female 
voices  was  most  soothing  to  her  troubled  spirit;  and  she  felt 
such  a  sense  of  peace  and  comfort  steal  over  her,  as  had  been  a 
stranger  to  her  for  a  long,  long  time.  The  sermon  was  directed 
almost  entirely  toward  herself.  The  priest  had  no  sympathy 
with  her  work  and  she  had  ceased  to  dwell  upon  it,  when  con- 
vinced of  this.  He  had  greatly  opposed  the  journey  which  was 
the  acme  of  all  her  hopes,  and  upon  which  she  was  now  under 
way.  She  well  knew  that  it  was  to  her  he  spoke  when  he  said 
that  "All  should  cast  aside  with  the  old  year  and  the  old  cen- 
tury ill-advised  plans,  etc."  She  knew  she  must  offend  him 
by  going  on  with,  her  work,  for  which  she  believed  God  had 
created  and  appointed  her,  but  her  plans  had  been  made  before 
she  had  met  and  known  him,  and  after  all  she  Knew  he  spoke  in 
ignorance  of  what  that  work  really  was,  and  of  how  she  had 
come  to  undertake  it;  therefore  his  opinion  was  utterly  worth- 
less to  her.  But  it  pleased  and  comforted  her  that  he  deemed 
her  of  enough  importance  to  demand  an  exhortation  from  the 
pulpit  itself,  and  she  was  nearer  to  becoming  a  Catholic  at  that 
moment  than  ever  before  or  after. 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  435 

She  had  left  the  little  chapel  at  peace  with  the  world  and 
better  still,  at  peace  with  herself. 

She  paced  the  narrow  limits  of  her  small  room  for  an  hour  or 
two,  then  wrapping  a  great  white  bourneous  around  her,  she  went 
out  upon  the  balcony,  determining  to  greet  the  sun  which  rose 
upon  this  new  century  on  his  first  appearance  above  the  moun- 
tain-tops. 


436  LA    GRAN    QUIBIRA 

CANTO  THE  THIRD. 

"LOVE'S   DREAM    BROKEN." 

Upon  the  balcony  the  woman  was  joined,  a  little  later,  by 
the  priest,  and  together  they  measured  the  length  of  the  balcony 
which  surrounded  the  south  and  east  sides  of  the  immense  build- 
ing. They  talked  for  a  time,  he  chiding  her  gently  for  the  whim 
which  had  seized  upon  her,  an  invalid,  to  brave  the  chill  morn- 
ing air.  She  answered  simply:  "It  is  the  last  time  I  shall 
ever  see  the  sun  rise  upon  a  New  Year.  My  life  ends  with  the 
present  year." 

Then  he  seemed  really  angry  and  spoke  of  the  sin  of  morbid 
thoughts. 

"But  these  are  not  morbid  fancies.  They  do  not  sadden, 
they  comfort  me,"  and  she  laughed  long  and  merrily  when  he 
muttered  something  about  "women  being  past  all  understand- 
ing." 

But  the  footsteps  of  the  woman  became  irregular  from  the 
weariness  of  this  unwonted  exercise,  and  the  priest  first  drew 
her  hand  within  his  arm  and  supported  her  with  the  other ;  then 
finding  her  perversely  set  upon  seeing  the  sun  rise  upon  the  new 
century,  he  seated  her  upon  a  bench  facing  the  east,  and  went 
to  fetch  some  rugs  from  her  own  room.  He  then  seated  him- 
self beside  her,  and  startled  her  a  little  by  resuming  his  former 
attitude  of  protection  by  again  placing  his  arm  about  her,  for 
seated,  she  needed  not  his  support.  After  this  they  talked  by 
snatches,  the  woman  carefully  avoiding  any  further  allusion  to 
the  much-disputed  question  of  her  journey  southward,  leading 
him  rather  to  speak  of  himself,  and  of  his  calling,  making  him 
laugh  at  intervals  that  merry,  rollicking  laugh  of  his  which  so 
delighted  her  and  which  gave  her  new  trust  and  confidence  in 
him,  it  was  so  like  the  unbridled  laughter  of  a  little  child.  But 
more  often  they  gazed  into  each  other's  eyes  in  silent  content, 
happy  that  they  were  alone  together  with  all  the  world  before 
them,  but  with  every  other  living  creature  out  of  sight  and  hear- 
ing. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  43? 

Then  the  sun  rose.  Not  with  sudden  dash  and  flash  of 
color,  of  red  and  purple  and  gold  as  was  sometimes  his  wont  in 
these  mountain  regions ,  but  with  slow,  majestic  stride  in  a  faint, 
pale  golden  glow  which  deepened  and  deepened  and  grew  and 
grew  into  a  burnished  golden  ball  that  glorified  and  made  strong 
all  upon  the  whole  surface  of  the  earth  upon  which  it  looked 
down.  The  eyes  of  the  woman  were  fixed  as  in  adoration  upon 
this  golden  glory  which  seemed  more  like  a  stern,  cold  command 
than  like  a  sweet  promise  for  the  future.  But  the  eyes  of  the 
priest  never  left  her  face,  upon  whose  soft  whiteness  a  reflected 
glory  rested,  and  he  sighed  a  trifle  impatiently  as  he  arose  to  at- 
tend to  other  of  his  priestly  offices  as  yet  unfulfilled. 

The  woman  rose  also,  but  her  eyes  were  still  fixed  upon  the 
sun.  With  another  sigh  the  priest  raised  his  hand  in  the  ac- 
customed blessing  over  her  sun-crowned  head ;  then  bent  over  her 
and  said:  "Peace  be  with  thee.  My  peace  I  give  unto  thee." 
Then  he  softly  pronounced  her  name,  for  the  woman  had  a 
name,  and  it  had  never  sounded  so  softly  beautiful  as  when  it 
was  spoken  now.  Then  he  bent  still  lower  over  her,  gently 
kissed  her  upon  the  forehead  and  turning  hastily  strode  down 
the  dark  corridor  within  the  huge  building  upon  his  way  back  to 
the  chapel. 

The  woman  was  startled,  but  she  had  no  time  to  dwell  upon 
the  thought  of  this  unwonted  act.  For  there  through  the  corri- 
dor into  which  the  priest  had  but  now  vanished,  she  saw 
a  troop  of  darkly-outlined  figures  stealing  silently  toward  her 
as  she  stood,  her  right  hand  resting  upon  the  outer  railing  of  the 
balcony. 

She  knew  and  understood.  She  cast  a  hurried  look  down- 
ward to  the  place  she  knew  was  paved  with  unyielding  flag- 
stones upon  which  she  had  heard  the  ring  of  horses'  feet;  then 
with  that  presence  of  mind  which  seemed  never  to  desert  her  in 
time  of  need,  she  deliberately  turned  her  back  upon  the  dark 
figures  whose  hands  were  already  uplifted  for  the  blow  and  said 
distinctly  in  a  voice  whose  sweetness  held  never  a  quaver :  ' '  The 
good  priest  is  right.  The  holy  catholic  faith  is  the  one  and  only 
true  faith.  I  will  embrace  it  as  he  desires  me  to  do." 

She  never  turned  but  she  felt  rather  than  saw  the  threaten- 


438  LA   GRAN   QUIBIBA 

ing  hands  fall— the  figures  shrouded  in  the  robes  of  the  Sister- 
hood from  which  only  their  glowing  eyes  gleamed  like  those  of 
the  ghouls  they  seemed,  looked  at  each  other,  then  in  wonder  and 
in  dismay,  silently  as  they  had  appeared,  they  filed  singly  out 
from  the  corridor  and  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  the  priest  to- 
ward the  chapel. 

Then  again  the  woman  glanced  down  to  where  she  knew  the 
cruel  flagstones  paved  the  court  fully  a  hundred  feet  below  and 
wondered  while  her  frame  shook  with  the  first  tremor  of  fear 
which  had  yet  assailed  her,  what  she  would  now  have  been  like 
had  she  not  saved  herself  by  her  woman 's  wit  from  being  hurled 
down  into  that  black  abyss  which  the  golden  rays  of  the  sun  of 
a  new  century  had  as  yet  not  lightened.  Then  she,  too,  followed 
them  all  into  the  dark  building  but  not  to  the  chapel  as  she  had 
intended,  and  which  she  never  entered  again;  but  to  her  own 
room  where  she  made  preparations  for  a  speedy  departure  from 
this  place  which  she  felt  to  be  for  her  at  least,  accursed. 

She  had  then  taken  modest  quarters  in  the  city,  as  her 
limited  means  demanded,  and  here  the  priest  had  visited  her. 

It  had  now  been  but  a  few  hours  since  she  had  bidden  him 
farewell.  He  had  visited  her  frequently  during  her  short  sojourn 
there,  and  the  mysteries  of  the  rosary  had  taken  upon  them  a 
new  meaning  for  her.  The  word  obedience  had  grated  harshly 
lipon  the  ear  of  her  who  owned  obedience  to  none;  and  some- 
thing in  the  face  and  manner  of  the  priest  had  startled  and 
angered  her.  She  felt  as  if  she  could  have  throttled  him  when 
he  nodded  significantly  to  her,  as  he  dwelt  upoa  the  submission 
of  the  Virgin  Mary  to  the  divine  will. 

It  was  well  for  the  priest  that  his  own  attitude  toward  her 
was  always  one  of  the  greatest  respect.  That  idea  of  the  sur- 
render of  the  person,  which  had  ever  been  so  repugnant  to  her, 
saved  her  from  becoming  a  convert  to  the  Roman  Catholic  faith. 
For,  as  she  for  the  first  time  realized  the  full  significance  of  the 
lesson  he  was  attempting  to  instill  into  her  mind— the  lesson 
of  implicit  obedience— she  rebelled  at  once;  and  took  a  cruel 
pleasure  in  correcting  him  when  he  spoke  of  the  Divine  Will  and 
the  Divine  Love,  by  saying  curtly  that  " divine  lust"  would  be 
the  more  correct  term. 

The  priest  had  hastily  changed  the  subject  and  asked  her  of 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  439 

herself  and  of  future  plans,  saying  something  about  "woman's 
whimsical  actions." 

And  she  had  said:  "I  think  father,  thou  canst  not 
judge  of  my  actions  by  those  of  other  woman.  I  have  doubtless 
known  many  more  of  my  sex  than  thou,  and  I  have  never  found 
one  who  was  in  the  most  remote  degree  like  myself.  I  am  only 
one  and  not  one  of  a  class.  I  do  not  think  or  act  according  to 
those  set  rules  which  govern  womankind.  As  to  my  plans  for  the 
future  I  have  not  modified  them  in  the  least.  I  only  ceased  to 
name  them  to  irresponsive  ears.  I  start  in  the  morning  for  the 
South,  unless"  she  added  a  little  wistfully,  "I  should  determine 
upon  waiting  for  the  excursion  which  leaves  here  by  the  same 
route  two  days  later." 

At  this  the  priest's  pale  face  had  taken  on  an  added  pallor, 
and  he  had  said  beseechingly :  ' '  You  will  wait  for  the  excursion 
train.  I  will  see  you  again  upon  Wednesday,  when  I  will  have 
more  time  in  which  to  talk  seriously  to  you." 

And  angry  with  herself  and  with  him,  angry  at  she  knew  not 
what,  she  had  said:  "Quien  sabe."  (who  knows?),  then  added 
as  he  made  his  adieux, ' '  But  lest  I  might  exert  my  woman 's  priv- 
ilege and  determine  upon  going  earlier,  thou  hadst  better  bid 
me  good-by  now"  and  added  once  again  with  her  old  time  teas- 
ing effrontery:  "And  lest  I  do  not  get  out  to  the  hospital  to  bid 
my  little  sisters  farewell,  please  kiss  them  all  goodbye  for 
me." 

She  was  sorry  for  this  speech  of  hers,  for  no  sooner  had 
the  priest  departed,  than  she  found  it  possible  to  start  upon  her 
journey  before  the  night  was  over,  and  this  was,  as  she  then 
thought  the  last  time  she  might  see  him  upon  earth,  and  she 
wished  that  she  had  craved  his  blessing  upon  her  journey  and 
undertaking,  instead  of  teasing  him  to  the  last,  for  since  it  had 
been  made  possible  for  her  to  do  so,  she  had  determined  to  run 
away. 

For  of  all  the  follies  I  have  ever  committed  throughout 
my  life,  (and  they  are  many)  she  thought,  that  of  flirting 
with  a  holy  priest  is  the  greatest.  No.  I  am  a  better  woman 
than  he  thinks  me,  and  I  will  never  with  my  eyes  open  to  the 
enormity  of  the  offense,  tempt  a  priest  to  forswear  his  priestly 
vows  for  my  sake.  There  is  nothing  for  it  but  to  run  away. 


440  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

And  this  she  had  done.  The  priest  had  with  quivering  lip 
bidden  her  farewell  in  the  grey  twilight  of  the  evening,  and  in 
the  yet  more  dreary  twilight  of  the  next  morning  she  was  speed- 
ing fast  as  steam  could  urge  her  to  her  longed-for  destination. 

No.  She  would,  she  said,  put  all  thought  of  the  priest  be- 
hind her,  as  she  would  that  of  the  place  she  was  leaving  upon 
this  bleak  snowy  February  morning. 

But  this  was  easier  said  than  done.  For  the  rosary  upon 
her  bosom  writhed  and  crept  about  like  some  living  thing,  a  hand 
that  sought  to  find  her  heart.  Yet  she  was  glad  that  she  had 
possessed  the  courage  to  say  to  him  coldly  in  answer  to  what  he 
had  said  of  "the  wiles  of  woman:"  "Thou  art  wrong.  The 
love  of  a  good  woman  is  a  protection  to  its  object.  For  that 
object's  sake,  rather  than  to  tempt  him  to  forswear  vows  which 
shut  her  out  from  his  heart  she  will  crush  every  thought  of  him 
from  her  own  heart  although  she  break  it  in  doing  so.  And  the 
love  of  a  bad  womanf  Why  there  is  no  such  thinir.  That  would 
be  an  anomaly  in,  and  a  libel  upon,  nature." 

"And  so  endeth  the  first  and  last  chapters  of  the  Book  of 
Love  and  "Wisdom  in  which  the  good  priest  figures  as  hero  and  I 
as  heroine,"  she  said  with  another  careless  laugh. 

But  the  chapters  in  our  Book  of  Life  are  not  so  easily  closed 
by  our  own  hands.  And  it  was  fated  that  she  think  of  the  priest 
very  often,  and  that  she  meet  him  once  again. 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  441 

CANTO  THE  FOURTH. 

A  REMINISCENCE— "HAUNTING  DREAMS." 

(The  following  has  been  taken  from  the  written  ac- 
count of  the  woman  herself,  after  her  fancied  escape  from  the 
horrors  of  this  place.) 

She  writes:  As  yet  I  have  not  had  sufficient  courage  to 
even  think  of  the  strange  and  terrible  experiences  which  were 
mine  at  La  Gran  Quibira:  although  the  success  of  my  mission 
both  here  and  there  may  depend  solely  upon  my  forcible  recital 
of  these.  While  there  I  was  without  the  means  of  keeping  an  ac- 
count of  these  events  as  they  occurred,  being  at  the  time  without 
pen,  pencil,  or  typewriter,  and  am  able  now  to  recollect  but  few 
of  the  dates.  But  for  my  own  future  guidance  I  will  now  jot 
down  in  the  most  matter-of-fact,  commonplace  manner  possible 
these  events  as  they  transpired,  trusting  that  I  may  be  able  at 
some  future  time,  should  occasion  demand,  to  weave  them  to- 
gether into  a  pleasing  web  of  fact. 

Nothing  betrays  the  utter  prostration  of  my  nervous  sys- 
tem so  completely,  as  the  fact  that  I  am  unable  to  give  adequate 
expression  to  the  thoughts  in  my  accustomed  way  and  not  fear- 
fully and  hesitatingly  as  now.  Let  me  think. 

*     *     * 

It  was  against  all  advice  and  in  spite  of  all  discouragement 
that  I  started  from  this,  the  most  beautiful  town  in  Colorado,  early 
upon  the  morning  of  the  fourteenth  day  of  February  last,  all 
alone,  to  make  my  way  once  more  to  La  Gran  Quibira.  The 
railway  journey  was  accomplished  by  me  without  difficulty.  My 
ticket  had  been  purchased  to  Socorro  but  I  had  checked  my  bag- 
gage to  Limitar,  a  Mexican  village  some  seven  or  eight  miles 
short  of  that  place.  And  here  I  insisted  upon  leaving  the  train 
despite  the  protests  of  the  conductor,  who  at  once  declared 
he  would  not  leave  so  helpless  a  person  as  my  blindness  made  of 
me,  alone,  at  dead  of  night  at  this  lonely  railway  crossing,  which 
was  fully  a  half  mile  from  shelter  and  a  mile  from  the  town.  It 
is  one  of  my  most  firmly-rooted  principles  to  always  have  my  own 


442  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

way,  especially  when  my  right  to  do  so  is  disputed  by  one  of  the 
opposite  sex.  So  by  dint  of  argument,  persuasion  and  subter- 
fuge (for  I  was  compelled  in  this  instance  to  ignore  other  firmly 
rooted  principles  and  to  resort  to  a  'white  lie'  or  two)  I  had  it 
then,  and  was  left  by  the  conductor  of  "Through  Express 
No. — ,"  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  seated  flat  upon  the 
ground  near  an  old  tool  shed  beside  the  railway  track,  in  solitary 
state,  with  the  prospect  of  remaining  there  for  full  two  hours. 
*  *  * 

At  the  end  of  this  time,  so  the  conquered  conductor  told  me, 
the  mail-carrier  would  here  meet  the  'up  train'  and  I  might  then 
accompany  him  to  the  town.  I  had  quite  a  leave-taking,  the  con- 
ductor and  all  of  the  train  men  trying  to  make  me  as  comfort- 
able as  was  possible,  combatting  in  their  turn  the  arguments  and 
objections  of  the  score  or  so  of  passengers  who,  wondering  at  the 
unusual  length  of  time  the  train  had  been  halted  at  this  out-of- 
the-way  point,  and  fearing  some  disaster,  had  alighted  and  who 
now  loudly  protested  in  their  turn  against  leaving  me  alone,  and 
who  finding  themselves  worsted  in  the  discussion,  ended  by  giv- 
ing me  all  of  their  good  wishes  (the  very  best)  calling  them  out 
to  me  from  the  platforms  of  the  cars  as  far  as  I  could  hear  them 
for  the  rumbling  of  the  train  and  the  repeated  "huzzas"  of  the 
more  enthusiastic. 


Left  alone  in  the  night,  I  fell  to  munching  a  sandwich  and 
enjoyed  to  the  utmost  the  moonlight  and  that  sense  of  freedom 
which  the  solitude  gave  me.  All  was  so  peaceful  and  so  nice  and 
so  cold. 


At  the  end  of  an  hour  and  a  half  the  mail-carrier  arrived. 
And  after  he  had  received  his  quota  of  the  north  bound  mail  and 
answered  a  few  of  my  questions  put  to  him  in  painful  Spanish, 
the  procession  started.  I  insisted  upon  carrying  the  mail -bags 
part  of  the  way  at  least,  and  did  so  without  being  sworn  in 
to  the  office.  These  we  left  at  the  village  postoffice,  then  we 
marched  along  the  full  length  of  the  straggling  town,  no  short 
distance  I  can  assure  thee,  for  the  place  strings  along  the  road 
as  is  the  habit  of  all  Mexican  towns,  for  an  inconceivable  dis- 
tance. The  person  one  wishes  to  visit  always  lives  at  the  ex- 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  443 

treme  opposite  end  from  that  of  one's  approach,  and  my  old 
Mexican  friend  proved  to  be  no  exception  to  the  general  rule. 

*  *     * 

The  walk  along  the  dusty  highway  was  a  long  one  but  was 
-vastly  interesting  and  decidedly  funny.  The  conversation  was 
carried  on  in  two  separate  and  distinct  languages,  interspersed 
with  spasmodic  attempts  to  amalgamate  the  two  which  resulted 
in  a  sort  of  linguistic  "hodge-podge"  equally  unintelligible  to 
both.  We  got  there,  however,  and  my  old  friend  and  his  familia 
were  finally,  after  many  futile  attempts,  aroused  by  the  terrible 
thumps  of  my  official  guide  administered  upon  the  lower  part 
of  the  door.  I  wondered  much  at  this  odd  manner  of  knocking , 
but  remembering  that  although  the  average  Mexican  of  today 
may  be  the  happy  possessor  of  a  dozen  or  more  of  bedsteads,  he 
almost  invariably  sleeps  upon  a  sheep-skin  laid  flat  upon  the 
floor,  I  wondered  no  longer. 

*  *     * 

My  friend  aroused  from  his  heavy  slumber,  I  was  taken  into 
his  custody  and  introduced  to  the  Senora  who  kept  her  bed ;  and 
after  explaining  the  meaning  of  my  unexpected  appearance  at 
this  unconscionable  hour  and  holding  a  grand  council  as  to  the 
ways  and  means  of  forwarding  me  to  my  destination,  I  was  es- 
corted to  the  guest-chamber  and  bidden  to  sleep  until  breakfast 
time,  which  I  was  very  glad  to  do. 

*  *     # 

Two  days  later,  amigo  mio  drove  me  into  Socorro,  that 
I  might  there  purchase  my  supplies.  For  propriety 's  sake  I  took 
with  me  two  small  members  of  this  familia  Mexicano,  and  in  the 
teeth  of  a  violent  New  Mexican  sandstorm  with  pater  familias 
for  a  walking  guide-post,  and  my  two  small  guides  par-excellence 
veering  in  this  direction  and  in  that,  I  sailed  about  this  historic 
city  like  a  ship  in  strange  waters  and  without  a  rudder ;  but  man- 
aged with  the  added  pull-back  of  not  being  able  to  hold  any  lucid 
conversation  with  my  friendly  companions  to  complete  my  pur- 
chases and  get  them  and  myself  back  to  Limitar  in  triumph ;  all 
of  us  in  a  state  of  high  glee  at  the  success  of  our  trip. 

*  *     * 

Early  Sunday  morning  after  the  customary  bickering  and 
the  disputes  inseparable  from  such  an  undertaking,  I  parted  from 


444  LA   GRAN   QUIBIBA 

my  good  friend  and  his  family  including  my  prime  favorite 
Felicite,  aged  one  and  a  half  years,  the  happiest  and  sweet- 
est little  Mexcan  bebe  grande  in  all  the  territory,  and  be  pleased 
to  remember  with  a  view  to  gratifying  the  taste,  the  greatest 
lover  of  sweets  in  America.  If  thou  couldst  have  seen  her  bat- 
tling against  the  administering  of  a  necessary  dose  of  some  medic- 
inal herb  tea,  her  mother  holding  her  nose  with  one  hand,  a 
brother  upon  one  side,  a  sister  upon  the  other,  and  imprisoned 
from  behind,  her  mouth  held  open  from  in  front,  into  which  her 
mamma  was  pouring  the  contents  of  the  cup,  hemmed  in  and 
held  fast  by  them  all,  coaxed  and  threatened  and  laughed  at  by 
them  all,  gurgling  and  sputtering  and  spitting,  utterly  refusing 
to  swallow  the  mixture,  reach  out  her  tiny  hands  for  the  dread 
cup  at  sight  of  the  handful  of  dolces  which  I  offered  as  a 
bribe,  smiling  serenely  through  her  tears  and  take  down  the 
obnoxious  mixture  with  a  relish  borrowed  from  the  anticipation 
of  the  promised  sweets,  thou  wouldst  journey  as  I  should  a 
hundred  miles  out  of  thy  way  with  a  pound  of  that  candy  so 
dear  to  the  Mexican  palate  of  old  and  young  alike,  to  have  the 
droll  scene  repeated,  and  would  smile  each  time  the  remem- 
brance of  it  crossed  thy  mind,  and  at  the  thought  of  the  happy 
Jittle  Felicite  De  Santa  Ana  wert  thou  a  thousand  miles  away. 

*  *     * 

I  loaded  the  last  and  perhaps  the  last  of  my  belongings, 
upon  my  hired  wagon,  and  started  upon  my  journey  across  the 
country  to  La  Gran  Quibira,  with  only  the  sacrifice  of  my  water- 
barrel,  the  tent-poles  I  had  taken  great  pains  to  secure  at 
Socorro  to  replace  those  which  had  been  lost  or  stolen  along  my 
route,  and  items  too  numerous  to  mention,  all  of  which  I  had  be- 
lieved to  be  absolutely  necessary  for  my  individual  comfort,  left 
behind  by  Mexican  carelessness  or  Mexican  stubbornness;  and 
mounting  upon  what  was  left  of  my  possessions,  I  trusted  my- 
self to  the  care  of  the  Mexican,  whom  I  had  hired  and  his  aide, 
Willie. 

*  *     * 

An  hour  or  so  later  I  did  what  I  had  frequently  declared 
that  I  would  never  do— I  forded  the  Rio  Grande— which  is  al- 
ways a  rather  serious  undertaking  because  of  the  depth  of  its 
channels  and  of  the  shifting  quicksands  of  its  bottom.  We  ac- 
complished this  uncertain  feat  in  safety,  however,  with  the  as- 


A  MUSICAL,  MYSTERY  445 

sistance  of  three  extra  horses  and  one  extra  boy  and  many  extra 
lashes  inflicted  upon  our  horses.  Then  began  the  tough  and 
tedious  pull  across  the  miles  of  sandy  river-bottom  up  on  to  the  top 
of  the  mesa  cut  into  many  sections  by  rocky  aroyas.  We  stop- 
ped for  the  night  at  a  ranch  whose  usual  occupants  had  gone  into 
town  for  the  stormy  Spring  months,  owing  to  which  fact  I  was 

able  to  secure  the  unusual  luxury  of  a  room  to  myself. 

*  #     * 

Next  day  we  partook  of  our  noonday  chilli  concarne  and 
torties  and  drank  our  black  coffee  at  the  rancho  of  the  owner 
of  the  rig,  which  he  had  modestly  christened  '"El  Ojo  a  Dios" 
(The  Eye  of  God  Ranch.)  This  was  at  the  entrance  to  the  Can- 
yon Cosino  (twisting  canyon)  to  which  we  had  climbed  during 
the  forenoon.  Here  the  Major  Domo  remained  behind  after  see- 
ing Willie  and  I  safely  into  its  mouth,  and  after  enjoining  upon 
the  former  a  speedy  return. 

*  *     * 

I  had  supposed  there  was  a  post  office  at  Montezuma,  a  small 
village  a  few  miles  from  La  Gran  Quibira,  and  it  was  because 
of  this  supposition  I  had  dared  to  venture  here  alone.  But 
what  was  my  consternation  in  passing  through  the  place,  which 
was  my  only  means  of  communicating  with  the  outside  world,  to 
find  it  absolutely  deserted,  the  water-supply  having  failed  three 
years  before,  although  the  place  was  still  upon  the  county  maps 
and  the  name  still  appeared  upon  the  post  office  directory. 

*  *     * 

Arriving  at  the  spring  which  I  had  upon  the  occasion  of  its 
uncovering  christened  "Living  Waters,"  I  was  both  chagrined 
and  frightened  to  find  the  place  entirely  deserted  by  my  old 
neighbors  and  that  there  remained  at  the  store  only  a  strange 
Mexican  family  instead  of  the  Americans  whom  I  expected  to 
find  there.  ' '  Living  Waters ' '  had  now  the  audacity  to  compel  us 
to  pump  its  waters  up  in  a  most  humdrum  fashion. 

*  *     * 

After  watering  our  horses  and  obtaining  a  supply  for  our 
own  use,  and  seeing  no  one  about,  we  drove  to  the  top  of  La  Gran 
Quibira  hill,  upon  whose  summit  are  La  Gran  Quibiran  ruins. 
These  are  located  upon  my  homestead  claim  which  I  had  made 
such  exertions  to  reach  in  order  to  perfect  my  title  and  secure  my 
patent.  I  visited  the  place  now  for  the  first  time  since  my  hus- 


446  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

band's  death,  having  striven  in  vain  to  do  so  before.  And  I 
came  now  only  to  find  the  grand  old  ruins  which  had  been  my 
pride  and  for  whose  preservation  and  intelligent  uncovering  my 
husband  had  taken  up  this  claim,  almost  totally  demolished,  liter- 
ally destroyed,  to  furnish  building  material  for  the  store  at 
the  foot  of  the  hill.  My  lamentations  over  this  vandalism  were 
long  and  loud,  and  my  opinion  of  the  vandal  who  had  committed 
this  outrage  found  expression  in  the  strongest  words  in  the  Eng- 
lish vocabulary. 

*  *     * 

I  had  intended  to  pitch  my  tent  above  some  underground 
mason  work  my  late  husband  had  cleared  in  part  during 
his  own  lifetime,  and  to  untilize  the  walls  that  were  upon  three 
sides  of  the  opening  and  so  secure  a  room  the  full  size  of  my  tent, 
which,  in  view  of  this,  was  but  a  ten  by  twelve.  I  found  to  my 
dismay  that  the  entire  place  had  been  filled  with  rocks  too  heavy 
to  be  removed,  and  that  a  great  flat  rock  I  had  intended 
to  uncover  and  to  use  as  either  roof  or  floor  to  a  second  room 
had  been  broken  up  for  this  purpose.  I  expressed  my  righteous 
indignation  in  no  measured  terms  at  this  disarrangement  of  my 
plans,  and  at  the  fact  thus  proven  that  some  one  whom  I  had 
trusted,  had  been  here  without  our  knowledge  to  steal  from  a 
dying  old  man  and  an  almost  blind  woman  that  which  was  their 
own  by  every  legal  right.  I  was  compelled  to  pitch  my  tent  near 
by,  as  the  boy  Willie  was  in  haste  to  return  to  El  Ojo  A  Dios 
as  speedily  as  possible.  He  remained  with  me  until  nearly  noon 
of  the  second  day  of  my  arrival,  in  the  meantime  putting  up  my 
tent  and  bringing  me  a  barrel  of  water  and  also  a  small  load  of 
wood,  as  had  been  agreed  by  his  employer.  Then  I  was  left  upon 

the  ground,  alone. 

*  *     * 

That  night  was  bitter  cold  and  the  snow  fell  heavily.  Win- 
ter had  set  in  in  real  earnest.  Next  morning  the  Mexican  at 
the  store  who  had  now  agreed  to  furnish  me  with  water,  came 
up  as  he  said  to  move  me  down  the  hill.  But  I  told  him  that  I 
had  come  to  stay  and  could  not  quit  my  ground.  I  am  of  a  ner- 
vous, rather  timid  nature,  yet  alone  as  I  was  in  this  solitary  spot, 
I  was  not  afraid,  but  felt  a  sense  of  freedom  and  relief  in  the 
absence  of  the  uncompanionable  of  those  with  whom  my  dire 
poverty  had,  with  of  course  an  occasional  exception,  thrown  me. 


A  MUSICAL,  MYSTERY  447 

I  was  compelled  to  saw  my  own  wood  (I  can  manipulate  a  saw 
but  stand  in*  deadly  fear  of  an  axe)  and  to  cook  my  own  food. 
*     *     * 

I  arose  each  morning  at  break  of  day,  and  after  my  break- 
fast I  wandered  about  the  ground  for  some  four  or  five  hundred 
yards  either  way  from  my  camp  and  lest  I  should  lose  myself, 
not  being  able  to  discern  my  tent  when  a  dozen  steps  away  from 
it,  I  fastened  the  end  of  a  ball  of  wrapping  cord  to  my  tent  pole, 
and,  ball  in  hand,  set  boldly  forth  upon  my  investigations  of  the 
premises,  determined  to  renew  my  acquaintance  with  my  posses- 
sions and  to  find  what  damage  had  been  done  to  them  during 
my  enforced  absence. 

I  usually  returned  well  warmed  up  with  my  walk  and  with 
the  passion  into  which  I  was  invariably  thrown  by  the  sight  of 
the  depredations  committed  as  I  well  knew,  by  those  who  were 
acquainted  with  my  right  to  the  land.  The  warmth  was  grateful 
to  me  no  matter  how7  obtained  for  I  was  bat  scantily  clad  and  the 
winter  had  come  upon  me,  acting  upon  the  axiom  of,  "better 
late  than  never." 


I  believe  that  I  am  the  only  woman  on  record  who  took  no 
thought  of  her  wardrobe  when  setting  out  upon  a  journey. 

Besides  the  damage  done  to  my  grounds  by  the  digging  of 
innumerable  new  holes,  the  pulling  down  of  the  grand  old  church 
and  monastery,  and  the  cutting  down  of  more  than  fifty  of  my 
grand  old  cedar  and  pinyon  trees,  the  blind  woman  whom  the 
miscreants  thought  would  never  know  what  was  miasing  from  her 
place,  found  that  they  had  dug  out  the  foundation  so  to  speak, 
of  the  whole  land  and  had  carried  away  much  of  the  gypsum 
from  the  beds  underlying  the  ruins  and  found  moreover  sufficient 
proof  that  the  theories  she  had  formed  concerning  this 
place  and  its  former  inhabitants,  based  upon  former  observations 
of  the  grounds  and  worked  out  as  it  were  "between  the  living 
and  the  dead,"  were  for  the  most  part  correct  But  I  have  no 
intention  here  of  telling  what  I  found  which  proved  their  truth 
and  formed  the  groundwork  to  that  part  of  my  literary  work 
which  describes  The  City  Called  Beautiful.  For  if  I  did 
I  should  only  excite  the  destructive  mania  of  the  American  scien- 
tist of  today,  to  the  end  that  when  I  return  to  the  ground  I 


448  LA    GRAN    QUIBIRA 

would  find  it  mutilated  beyond  all  recognition,  if  not  totally  de- 
stroyed. 

*  *     * 

Nothing  betrays  the  terrible  effect  upon  me  of  my  late  ex- 
periences so  much  as  the  fact  that  I  am  afraid  to  give  expression 
to  them.  I  have  striven  of  late  years  at  least,  having  need  of  all 
the  courage  both  moral  and  physical  at  my  command,  to  over- 
come all  fear.  So  at  the  first  approach  of  fear  I  determined  to 
put  my  courage  to  the  test. 

*  *     * 

There  was  one  room  within  the  old  monastery  in  which  I 
had  always  been  seized  with  an  unreasoning,  inexplicable  horror. 
And  now  dissatisfied  with  my  present  camp  I  resolved  to  change 
my  abiding  place  and  to  occupy  this  room,  or  rather  the  place 
where  it  had  been,  trusting  that  there  I  might  have  more 
complete  spiritualistic  revelations  than  I  was  having  where  I 
was,  the  dearth  of  which  I  was  at  the  time  deploring. 

*  *     * 

Circumstances  prevented  my  proposed  removal,  and  I  was 
therefore  unable  at  any  time  to  know  with  certainty  what  fur- 
ther destruction  was  being  wrought  by  visitors  to  the  ruins.  I 
was  growing  strong  both  in  body  and  in  spirit  in  spite  of  the 
many  petty  annoyances  to  which  I  was  subjected,  when  the  ex- 
periences, long  drawn  out,  were  forced  upon  me. 

*  *     * 

During  the  first  weeks  of  my  stay  I  missed  and  could  not 
account  for  the  absence  of  most  of  the  strange  sounds  with  which 
I  had  become  so  familiar  during  my  former  residence  upon  this 
haunted  ground,  the  mystery  of  which  I  had  hoped  to  fathom 
now.  But  I  was  able  after  a  time  to  distinguish  much.  Among 
the  many  minor  annoyances  to  which  I  was  continually  sub- 
jected was  the  failure  upon  the  part  of  the  Mexican  at  the  foot 
of  the  hill  to  provide  me  with  a  sufficiency  of  water.  I  was 
sometimes  at  the  very  bottom  of  my  barrel,  and  was  compelled  to 
drink  foul  and  soured  water  for  days  together.  I  was  supplied 
upon  two  of  these  occasions  by  an  unexpected  fall  of  snow,  other- 
wise I  must  have  perished  with  thirst— and  the  trouble  I  had  with 
the  burros  and  goats  and  sheep  which  the  Mexican  insisted  upon 
herding  upon  my  ground,  in  spite  of  my  oft-repeated  prohibi- 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  449 

tion !  Notwithstanding  all  of  these  petty  annoyances  I  thorough- 
ly enjoyed  the  novel  situation  and  my  nerves  were  acquiring  con- 
siderable tone. 

*  *     * 

Through  Lent,  which  I  kept  most  strictly,  (not  from  exces- 
sive piety  but  because  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  do  otherwise) 
many  curious  events  occured.  Most  of  these  I  then  attributed 
to  natural  causes.  Many  others,  however,  were  and  are  still  in- 
explicable. The  great  bell  commenced  to  ring  once  more.  I 
could  hear  footsteps  and  voices  and  many  times  was  so  entirely 
deceived  by  the  sounds  as  to  go  out  and  give  vent  to  my  custo- 
mary war-whoop  which  I  flatter  myself  would  have  done  credit 
to  a  sixteenth  century  Comanche  chief.  And  it  was  only  when 
continued  silence  showed  me  that  1  was  alone  upon  the  ground 
that  I  desisted  and  abused  the  invisible  but  noisy  ghosts  in  no 
measured  terms  for  not  further  gratifying  my  curiosity.  I 
heard  again,  too,  the  horn  of  him  whom  I  called  the  Wild  Hunts- 
man, and  upon  one  evening  and  upon  only  that  one,  just  after 
sunset,  the  flute  player,  who  came  close  to  the  opening  of  my 
tent  and  delighted  me  with  what  proved  to  be  his  farewell  sere- 
nade. 

*  #     * 

And  I  heard  ''the  water  music"  as  I  called  it  But  this 
was  continuous  and  ever  present.  Occasionally,  too,  I  heard  the 
brass  band  of  the  friars  whose  duty  seemed  to  be  as  of  old,  to 
herald  the  approach  of  strangers — not  ghostly  visitants. 

*  #     * 

And  then  all  sorts  and  kinds  of  music  was  to  be  heard,  and 
what  was  most  puzzling  to  me  was  the  fact  that  the  tunes  were 
so  frequently  those  of  modern  songs.  Now  of  course  all  this 
had  a  meaning,  but  what  it  was  other  than  to  attract  my  atten- 
tion and  (as  I  had  before  suspected)  to  distract,  it  from  other 
sounds  that  were  likewise  meant  to  be  heard  by  me,  and  to 
deaden  them,  I  could  not  determine.  What  could  one  think  when 
close  at  hand,  breaking  through  other  sounds,  there  struck  up  a 
familiar  refrain  such  as  a  strain  of  "Auld  Lang  Syne" 
and — when  the  tune  changed  suddenly  to  "Three 
Cheers  for  the  Red,  WTiite  and  Blue,"  directly  after 
which  I  received  my  first,  last  and  only  letter  upon  the  ground 
which  proved  to  be  a  communication  from  one  of  the  govern- 


450  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

mental  departments,  and  which  was  in  reference  to  this  very  bit 
of  land — and  what  was  I  to  think  when  I  heard,  as  if  played  be- 
side me,  and  within  the  tent  itself,  the  air  of  "Sweet  Bunch  of 
Daises"  followed  by  the  rendering  of  the  song  itself  by  voices 
I  knew  and  had  heard  almost  the  last  thing  before  I  had  quitted 
this  place.  This  occurred  but  this  once,  and  I  learned  upon  my 
return  here  that  the  head  of  the  house  which  I  had  left,  and 
with  whom  I  had  talked,  and  whose  ambition  it  was  to  visit  La 
Gran  Quibira,  had  died  at  about  this  time. 

Afterward  I  heard  "The  Old  Folks  At  Home"  and  so  long 
as  this  tune  was  going  on,  so  to  speak,  and  this  was  for  many 
weeks,  I  seemed  conscious  of  the  presence  of  one  of  the  old  men 
whom  I  had  left  at  the  ranch  down  the  hill  when  here  before. 
And  I  was  so  firmly  impressed  with  the  idea  that  he  was  now  on 
the  place  that  I  frequently  gave  him  a  piece  of  my  mind  for 
thus  sneaking  about  unseen,  where  he  would  have  been  welcome 
had  he  made  his  appearance  openly.  I  have  since  been  informed 
that  these  two  old  men  are  now  mining  somewhere  in  Colorado, 
but  I  have  heard  their  voices  so  distinctly  upon  this  ground 
I  am  forced  to  believe  that  both  are  dead  and  that  if  they  did  not 
meet  death  at  La  Gran  Quibira,  they  must  have  been  parties  to 
the  murders  that  I  am  convinced  have  been  committed  there. 

Throughout  Lent  I  prayed  and  sang  and  "told  my  beads" 
according  to  the  Holy  Catholic  Faith  as  set  forth  by  my  good 
friend  the  priest,  and  as  well  as  I  could  recollect  the  forms,  (I 
dare  say  I  am  the  only  heretic  who  wears  a  rosary  )  I 
laughed  as  well  and  wove  the  thread  of  my  incipient  Romanza, 
and  stormed  and  scolded  and  swore  as  occasion  demanded.  Upon 
Easter  Sunday  I  had  the  honor  to  entertain  for  the  last  time 
Dick  the  Rover,  a  most  notable  person  (in  his  own  opinion)  who 
heard  of  La  Gran  Quibira  away  down  in  Texas,  as  he  said,  and 
had  come  to  dig  for  the  treasure.  He  was  much  disappointed 
and  rather  saucy  when  I  forbade  him  to  dig  upon  the  land,  but 
drew  back  and  bade  me  farewell  from  his  camping  ground  near 
by,  saying  that  when  he  came  again  he  would  not  come  alone. 
This  notable  guest  of  mine  left  upon  the  morning  of  the  sixteenth 
day  of  April.  My  last  word  contained  the  warning  to  him  not 
to  get  into  any  dispute  about  paying  for  the  water  used  by  him- 
self and  his  two  burros  during  the  three  days  they  had  all  been 
my  uninvited  and  unwelcome  guests. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTEKY  451 

It  was  but  a  day  or  two  after  the  departure  of  my  new  ac- 
quaintance, the  dime  novel  hero,  that  I  was  awakened  by  the 
striking  of  a  great  clock.  I  am  under  the  impression  that  this 
was  upon  the  following  Saturday  night. 

It  struck  but  two  notes  after  I  was  fully  awake,  and  sounded 
so  much  like  the  town  clock  at  this  place  that  I  naturally  fell 
to  thinking  of  the  good  people  whom  I  had  left  behind.  The 
great  clock  struck  sometime  during  the  following  night  as  well, 
and  with  a  number  of  strokes  but  whether  eight,  ten  or  twelve 
I  could  not  say,  for  in  my  surprise  I  neglected  to  count  them.  I 
was  not  asleep  and  knew  that  I  was  not  deceived  this  time. 

Then  a  vowerful  voice  cried:  "The  blacksmith's  forge,  for 
forty  days!"  The  summons  was  taken  up  and  repeated  by  voice 
after  voice  of  the  many  runners  whose  flying  footsteps  I  could 
plainly  hear  as  they  sped  past — "The  blacksmith's  forge  for 
forty  days ! ' ' 

I  was  delighted. 

I  do  not  know  but  it  must  have  been  when  I  lay  unconscious 
under  the  influence  of  the  powerful  anesthetic  shortly  before  I 
had  visited  the  blacksmith's  forge  and  know  its  precise  locality, 
and  I  was  rejoiced  to  find  it  was  directly  beneath  me,  so  that  it 
would  be  possible  for  me  to  hear  much  if  not  all  that  which  was 
about  to  pass  there  or  in  the  schoolroom  adjoining  it.  For  had 
I  not  penetrated  the  subterranean  passage  of  which  I  was  so  cer- 
tain, and  lost  my  way  among  its  intricate  windings? 

In  my  company  was  a  half-grown  girl  or  boy  who  was  a 
stranger  to  me  and  whose  face  was  now  concealed  from  me.  We 
came  to  the  end  of  a  short  thoroughfare,  after  having  passed  by 
both  the  forge  and  the  school.  The  blacksmith  stood  in  his  door- 
way and  steppd  threateningly  forward  as  if  to  prevent  me  from 
entering  there.  I  remember  his  face  and  even  in  my  hurried 
flight  I  noticed  that  the  anvil  which  almost  wholly  blocked  the 
passage  was  cold  and  bare,  and  further,  that  the  apron  which  the 
man  wore  was  that  of  a  butcher  and  not  the  leather  one  usually 
worn  by  a  blacksmith. 

Afterward  this  had  a  certain  significance  for  me. 

Finding  that  the  street  terminated  here  we  turned  back,  and 
passing  the  school-room  which  had  become  suddenly  silent,  I 
went  up  to  the  door  that  was  barred  by  the  form  of  the  school 
mistress  and  said:  "I  think  I  will  visit  the  school."  I 


452  LA    GRAN   QUIBIRA 

walked  in,  pushing  my  way  past  the  shrinking  form  of  the 
teacher  whose  face  also  I  remember  well.  But  I  have  since  re- 
gretted that  I  looked  at  the  teacher  instead  of  further  examining 
the  book  she  held  open  in  her  band,  for  I  read  but  a  few  words 
in  this,  words  however  which  were  fraught  with  meaning. 

Around  the  walls  were  a  row  of  high-backed  arm  chairs 
most  of  which  were  vacant  but  for  the  books  left-carelessly  upon 
them.  The  occupants  of  the  others  seemed  to  have  been  sud- 
denly overpowered  by  sleep  and  were  dozing  in  all  sorts  of  com- 
fortless attitudes. 

Impelled  by  some  strange  influence,  I  advanced  to  a  closed 
door,  which  suddenly  revealed  itself  where  no  door  had  before 
appeared.  As  I  placed  my  hand  upon  the  fastening  to  open  it, 
the  vacant  chairs  were  suddenly  tenanted  as  were  the  others, 
by  the  forms  of  dead  children  of  all  ages  and  of  both  sexes,  who 
sat  bolt  upright  and  gazed  upon  me  with  imploring  eyes.  Then 
a  heavy  hand  was  laid  upon  me,  and  before  I  could  open  the 
door  I  was  drawn  forcibly  away  from  it  and  thrust  from  the 
school  room  by  the  burly  blacksmith  and  hurried  by  him  along 
the  passage  beyond  his  own  door  which  I  strove  with  all  my 
might  to  enter.  "Thou—"  he  said  fiercely,  "thou  dost  not  dare." 

"But  I  do  dare,"  I  replied  in  my  anger,  and  I  struck  him 
in  the  face  a  fierce  blow  that  resounded  in  my  astonished  ears  like 

a  thud  upon  the  anvil. 

#  *     * 

I  had  a  dream  which  had  a  curious  bearing  upon  this  sub- 
ject. I  was  awakened  in  the  middle  of  the  night  of  some  for- 
gotten date  by  a  voice  which  called  suddenly:  "Up!  Up!  An- 
tonio Gonzalez!  Up!  There's  work  to  do  tonight,"  and  there 
sprang  up  from  one  of  the  same  description  of  solid  high-backed 
wooden  chairs,  which  seemed  placed  at  my  very  bedside,  a  tall 
handsome  old  man,  whose  face  was  fair  and  fresh,  and  whose 
sleepy  blue  eyes  rested  upon  me  while  he  made  me  his  own  by 
a  sign  in  vogue  with  the  Mexican  of  today.  His  lithe,  active 
form,  was  robed  in  a  large  loose  gown  of  vivid  scarlet,  and  with 
my  customary  habit  of  giving  a  name  to  every  person  and  hap- 
pening, I  immediately  bestowed  upon  him  the  soubriquet  of 
Cardinal.  I  had  occasion  to  bear  the  Cardinal  in  mind,  as  thou 

wilt  see. 

*  *     * 

While  awaiting  the  development  of  events  at  the  black- 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  453 

smith's  forge  I  was  busy  with  my  novel,  weaving  together  the 
golden  threads  of  thought  as  they  came  to  me  into  a  tissue  as 
hright  and  beautiful  as  can  well  be  imagined,  and  listening  to 
the  different  kinds  of  music,  interested  in  every  trifle,  delighted 
to  find  my  health  so  much  improved,  and  that  my  nerves  were 
beginning  to  have  a  tone  stronger  than  I  had  ever  before  known. 
I  accepted  this  as  an  evidence  that  I  was  to  be  given  the  strength 
to  accomplish  successfully  my  self-appointed  task.  I  went  to 
bed  at  sunset  each  day  for  warmth,  not  to  sleep,  and  arranged  in 
thought  some  scene  in  my  Romanza,  laughing  loudly  and  heartily 
at  the  girlish  escapade  of  which  I  was  thinking. 


Just  as  the  sun  set  that  music  I  had  for  years  known 
for  that  which  accompanied  the  opening  of  the  tombs,  came  near 
and  stopped  directly  beneath  me  as  I  lay,  and  where  I  had 
located  the  blacksmith's  forge.  This  music  seemed  to  be  that  of 
a,  number  of  some  unknown  reed  instrument,  and  its  tones  were 
so  soft,  so  sweet,  so  tender  and  so  soothing,  that  I  held  my  very 
breath  to  listen,  lest  I  should  lose  a  single  note. 

Then  came  the  oft-repeated  notes  of  what  I  had  always 
thought  to  be  the  wail  for  the  dead,  of  the  cavalry  bugle.  But 
now  I  knew  this  to  be  the  up-heavel  of  the  earth  as  the  grave 
gave  up  its  dead.  For  days  previous  to  this  I  had  heard,  but 
very  faintly,  many  sounds  issuing  from  this  place. 

I  remember,  among  others,  that  of  many  childish  voices  sing- 
ing or  reciting  in  chorus ;  a  man 's  voice  in  terror  and  a  murmur 
as  of  many  male  voices  singing  an  old  hymn.  These  now  ap- 
proached the  opening  to  the  subterranean  passage,  and  the  fact 
that  this  was  within  a  few  feet  of  the  spot  wherein  I  had  located 
it,  makes  me  more  firm  in  my  belief  that  I  have  already  solved 
the  mystery  of  the  whereabouts  of  the  buried  treasure,  and  con- 
sequently that  I  am  the  one  appointed  to  unearth  it,  else  this 
would  not  have  come  to  my  spiritual  knowledge.  The  sounds  in- 
creased in  number  and  in  volume.  I  have  forgotten  to  mention 
that  before  I  had  thrown  myself  upon  my  bed,  I  felt  a  watch 
had  been  set  upon  my  movements,  and  that  if  I  was  to  behold 
what  passed,  my  knowledge  must  be  stolen.  A  bird,  whose  note 
was  strange  to  me  and  sweeter  than  that  of  any  bird  I  had  ever 


454  LA   QRAN   QUIBIRA 

heard  here  or  elsewhere,  had  taken  up  its  station  in  a  tree  near 
by  and  called  out  plainly,  "It  is  'she;'  'She'  is  here!" 

After  a  time  the  sounds  became  more  and  more  distinct. 
The  chorus  of  male  voices  was  heard  advancing  with  slow  and 
measured  tread.  They  left  the  vaults  beneath  me  and  apparently 
visited  tomb  after  tomb.  Dark  and  cold  as  was  the  night,  I  arose 
to  follow,  forgetting  that  I  was  alone  in  this  place  with  no  hu- 
man being  within  my  call,  and  subduing  all  fear,  in  my  eager- 
ness to  fathom  the  mystery  of  this  resurrection  and  learn  how 
the  dead  were  quickened.  But  I  was  held  back  by  unseen 
hands,  and  although  I  struggled  hard,  I  at  length  submitted, 
feeling  somehow  that  this  restraining  influence  was  exerted  by 
friends,  and  that  my  safety  lay  only  in  obedience. 

Then  I  lay  myself  down  and  made  a  pretense  of  sleeping, 
resolving  that  I  would  gain  by  craft  as  much  as  I  could  of  this 
forbidden  knowledge.  I  listened  intently.  I  could  then  hear 
plainly  the  voice  of  one  left  behind,  who  seemed  to  be  madly  run- 
ning about  the  underground  rooms  and  passages  in  a  vain  effort 
to  escape,  crying  without  ceasing,  "Oh,  God!  0,  Dios!  Oh, 
God!  0,  Dios!"  And  this  sound  was  kept  up  through  all  the 
other  scenes  that  passed  and  I  could  but  wonder  if  this  were 
not  some  poor  wretch  who  had  been  caught  there  spying  perhaps, 
and  who  was  able  to  see  what  I  was  permitted  only  to  hear  and 
that  by  stealth.  I  felt  assured  that  I  had  the  power  to  follow  the 
priests,  as  I  called  those  who  never  ceased  to  chant  the  same 
doleful  hymn,  upon  their  return  to  the  blacksmith's  forge,  fol- 
lowed by  an  almost  endless  procession  of  the  quickened  dead 
in  what  form  or  shape  I  could  only  guess,  but  that  the  penalty 
for  joining  them  would  be  that  I  myself  would  be  imprisoned 
there,  perhaps  forever.  The  temptation  was  strong,  but  I  was 
prevented  by  my  own  fear  of  this  dread  consequence  and  by 
the  close  watch  which  was  kept  upon  me  by  the  captain  of  the 
guard,  the  officer  of  the  day,  whom  I  called  the  hell-hound,  from 
that  blood-curdling  cry  with  which  he  announced  his  presence 
and  by  which  he  challenged  or  answered  the  guards  who  were 
upon  duty,  and  which  resembled  nothing  so  much  as  the  baying 
of  a  blood  hound  cut  short  into  an  angry  yelp.  The  sweet-toned 
songster  close  at  hand  answered  his  dread  challenge,  whose  pur- 
port I  could  not  make  out,  with:  "Yes.  It  is  'She/  but  she  has 
not  seen,  she  did  not  move." 

At  this  the  hell-hound  gave  an  approving  but  threatening 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  455 

yelp,  but  to  my  dismay  redoubled  the  guard,  and  a  hoarse- toned 
owl  was  stationed  upon  a  tree  but  a  few  feet  from  the  couch  upon 
which  I  lay.  The  sounds  thickened;  and  all  seemed  to  the  end 
to  confuse  me  and  to  drown  those  other  sounds  which  would 
have  rendered  the  scene  that  was  being  enacted  below  intelligible 
to  me.  But  despite  this  confusion  of  sounds  I  could  distinguish 
the  sustained  melodies  and  through  them  the  cry  of:  "Oh,  God! 
0,  Dios!"  of  the  terrified  wretch,  the  wail  of  the  tortured  spirits, 
the  screams  of  babes  and  of  women,  and  their  incessant  cries  for 
agua,  for  water.  And  so  many  English  words  were  intermingled 
with  those  in  Spanish  and  in  other  languages  which  were  un- 
intelligible to  me,  that  I  felt  this  place,  sup- 
posed to  have  been  altogether  deserted  in  the  year  1680,  must  in- 
stead have  been  occupied  at  a  much  later  date,  and  have  been 
the  scene  of  some  terrible  tragedy. 


Upon  the  ground  above,  I  could  hear  the  gathering  crowds 
all  making  for  the  blacksmith's  forge.  And  I  heard  the  bleating 
of  sheep  and  goats  in  immense  flocks  as  the  ground  resounded 
under  the  trampling  of  their  feet.  The  one  flock  was  headed 
by  an  immense  ram  which  came  close  beside  me  and  roared  in 
my  very  ear,  and  which  after  this  came  and  went  for  many  days 
and  nights.  The  bells  upon  the  leaders  of  these  flocks  rang  con- 
tinuously. And  I  was  much  startled  at  this  for  these  were  the 
selfsame  bells  I  had  heard  ever  since  my  arrival  here  and  had 
believed  to  belong  upon  the  flocks  of  the  Mexican  at  the  foot  of 
the  hill,  although  he  stoutly  denied  that  these  were  herded  each 
night  upon  my  ground.  *  *  *  At  times,  too,  my  vision 
pierced  the  walls  of  the  tent  and  I  saw  the  black-robed  and 
masked  inquisitors1  or  judges  seated  stiffly  in  the  same  high-backed 
cedar  wood  chairs  I  had  seen  in  the  school  room  and  from  which 
the  Cardinal  Gonzalez  had  so  hastily  arisen.  *  *  *  And 
then  even  my  tent  was  filled  with  the  forms  of  women,  young 
and  beautiful,  whose  abundant  jet  black  hair  trailed  over  their 
white  robes,  whose  purity  was  sullied  by  stains  of  blood,  and  by 
their  signs  and  their  attitude  of  suffering  I  understood  somehow 
the  horrible  fate  that  had  overtaken  them.  And  these,  because 
of  their  flowing  white  robes  and  their  white  cap-like  head  dress, 
I  knew  as  the  Priestesses.  I  questioned  these  softly,  promising 
them  that  I  would  do  all  in  my  power  to  right  their  wrongs,  if 


456  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

that  were  possible,  but  the  warning  yelp  of  the  hell-hound 
silenced  me  and  with  sad  and  as  it  seemed  to  me  reproachful 
looks,  they  stood  silent  and  motionless,  but  crowded  so  closely 
about  me  it  seemed  to  me  I  must  smother. 

' '  I  will  know  what  all  this  means, ' '  I  cried  aloud  and  sprang 
up ,  but  I  was  firmly  held  as  if  by  many  hands  and  forced  back- 
ward upon  my  bed.  I  was  so  anxious  and  so  angry  that  I  broke 
from  their  hold  and  sprang  from  the  bed  to  the  ground  calling 
frantically :  ' '  Cardinal !  Cardinal !  Antonio  Gonzalez,  help  ! 
help ! ' '  Gonzalez  did  not  respond  to  my  appeal,  but  in  a  flash 
I  was  surrounded  upon  all  sides  by  the  forms  and  faces  of  in- 
numerable human  beings,  maimed  and  mutilated  and  bleeding 
and  scarred,  some  beyond  the  recognition  of  their  species,  who 
peered  into  my  face  with  reproachful  eyes  and  moaned  and  sob- 
bed and  shrieked  so,  that  it  needed  no  words  to  tell  me  1 
might  as  well  have  called  upon  the  foul  fiend  himself  as  that  of 
Antonio  Gonzalez,  and  that  he  was  no  cardinal  but  the  execu- 
tioner of  the  Inquisition,  so  I  hastened  to  do  what  I  should  have 
done  at  first,  I  called  upon  God  for  help  instead. 
*  #  # 

I  went  to  bed  now  in  real  earnest,  determined  to  sleep  not ; 
but  the  unseen  hands  were  gently  laid  upon  me  now  and  a 
strangely  over-powering  singing,  buzzing  and  hissing  against 
whose  somnolent  effect  I  had  contended  all  night,  soothed  me  in 
spite  of  myself,  into  a  semi-conscious  state.  I  was  just  losing 
myself  in  a  refreshing  sleep  when,  feeling  something  weighing 
upon  my  head,  I  put  up  my  hand  and  rested  it  squarely  upon  a 
huge  tarantula  which  had  fastened  itself  upon  my  head.  I 
hastily  drew  from  my  head  the  cloth  with  which  I  had  covered  it, 
and  shook  off  the  horrible  thing,  and  heard  it  fall  heavily  to  the 
ground  behind  my  bed. 

Then  I  lit  a  candle  determined  not  to  lie  longer  in  the  dark. 
The  tarantula  then  came  round  the  bed  and  attacked  me.  I  ut- 
tered my  most  tremendous  war  whoop  and  shook  it  off  from  me 
for  the  third  time  before  it  desisted  from  the  attack.  I  confess 
that  I  was  sorely  frightened,  but  my  fright  turned  to  anger  when 
I  heard  a  taunting  laugh.  And  I  cried:  "I  am  not  afraid  of 
thee,  thou  devils.  And  now  I  am  going  to  sleep.  But  it  is  not 
because  thou  wiliest  it."  I  then  deliberately  blew  out  my  light, 
for  alas  it  had  only  served  to  add  to  my  terror  since  it  drove 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  457 

away  neither  the  material  nor  the  immaterial  forms  which  sur- 
rounded me.  I  counterfeited  sleep  so  well  as  to  deceive  my 
guard,  whom  I  heard  answer  the  challenge  of  Cerberus  with: 
"It  is  'she.'  She  is  here,  but  she  is  sleeping." 

Cerberus  took  no  stock  in  this  statement.  "  'She'  never 
sleeps,"  he  said.  And  I  heard  him  again  double  the  guard,  and 
to  my  infinite  horror  realized  that  some  animal  was  added  to 
their  number  whose  cat-like  purr  and  stealthy  step  I  could 
plainly  discern  as  it  came  close  to  my  side,  as  if  to  hearken  to  my 
breathing.  I  thought  I  was  certainly  losing  my  senses,  and  put 
out  my  hand  suddenly  to  dispel  the  illusion  but  placed  it  upon 
the  back  of  some  animal  whose  furry  tail  swept  over  my  hastily 

uncovered  face. 

*     *     * 

This  eventful  night  was  long  and  fraught  with  horrors,  and 
was  followed  by  many  days  and  nights  that  were  near  of  kin  to 
it.  Whenever  my  weary  nerves  seemed  about  to  give  way  and 
I  about  to  drop  into  uneasy  slumber,  the  yelp  of  that  terrible 
' '  master  of  ceremonies ' '  sounded  upon  the  air  as  if  to  remind  me 
of  the  dangers  which  surrounded  me,  and  I  was  for  the  time  ef- 
fectually aroused.  And  through  all  the  din  of  the  sounds  which 
I  was  meant  to  hear,  I  could  detect  with  some  understanding 
those  things  which  I  was  meant  not  to  hear.  I  knew  that  a 
trial  was  going  on  at  the  blacksmith's  forge  and  I  arrived  at  the 
conclusion — whether  correct  or  not  I  do  not  yet  know— that  it 
was  the  trial  of  that  worst-of-all-mankind,  and  that  all  of  these 
almost  numberless  of  the  awakened  dead  who  had  perished  at 
his  hands,  had  been  brought  here  that  they  might  accuse  him 
face  to  face. 

I  could  hear  the  sound  of  their  accusations  but  for  the  life 
of  me  I  could  not  tell  whether  the  accused  was  the  one  who 
called  out  unceasingly:  "Oh,  God!  0,  Dios!"  or  another.  Al- 
though I  fancied  that  the  voice,  which  advanced  or  receded  as  if 
followed  by  those  who  chorused  the  quaint  old  hymn,  was  the 
same.  And  somehow  I  came  to  know  that  the  inner  or  lower  room 
to  which  they  frequently  retreated  and  from  which  issued  with 
the  fainter  sound  of  the  added  distance,  the  most  heart-rending 
screams,  was  the  torture  chamber  of  the  Inquisition.  What  hurt 
me  most  was  the  fact  that  I  frequently  heard  the  name  of  God, 
and  of  Jesus,  the  thought  that  the  many  atrocities  had  been  com- 


458  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

mitted  in  these  holy  names,  and  that  now  both  God  and  the  Son 
of  God  were  deaf  to  their  appeals,  made  me  act  as  mediator,  and 
I  prayed  and  prayed  again  that  God  would  pity  if  He  could  not 
pardon  the  wretch,  for  it  seemed  to  me  that  nothing  human  could 
have  commmited  crimes  sufficiently  heinous  to  merit  endless  pun- 
ishment such  as  this. 

My  good  friend  the  priest  had  told  me  once  that  he  "never 
prayed  for  the  damned."  I  did  more  than  he.  I  prayed  most 
earnestly  for  the  damned. 

As  time  passed  on  and  the  terror  of  it  all  increased  rather 
than  diminished,  I  had  the  hardihood  to  pray  for  the  devil  him- 
self. "For,"  said  I,  "Since  we  are  taught  that  Satan  is  an 
angel  fallen,  there  must  yet  be  at  least  a  spark  of  divinity  in 
him.  And  this  is  indestructible.  Then  fan  it  into  flame,  Oh 
God.  And  if  thou  canst  not  pardon,  then  pity  him,  forsaken  of 
his  God,  and  give  him  but  another  hearing." 
*  *  # 

For  three  nights  and  days  I  slept  not  at  all.  Faint  and 
weak  from  terror  and  ungratified  curiosity,  I  stretched  myself 
upon  my  bed  at  intervals,  but  sprang  up  in  affright  if  I  but 
dozed. 

The  night  of  the  third  day,  lying  listening  upon  my  couch 
I  heard  the  singers  whom  I  called  the  missionaries,  upon  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground  making  their  rounds  anew.  Time  after  time 
they  did  this  and  afterwards  as  if  bringing  new  accusers  to  the 
place,  and  sometimes  I  thought  they  each  time  searched  for  some- 
thing they  failed  to  find  and  that  they  only  returned  to  the 
forge  to  torture  the  poor  wretch  of  wretches  once  again.  All 
that  night  the  watchers  sang  or  croaked  or  hooted  at  shorter  in- 
tervals and  the  hell-hound  seemed  more  active  than  ever  be- 
fore. A  panther  or  some  other  cat-like  animal  kept  up  its  cease- 
less vigil  upon  me  by  running  back  and  forth  upon  the  ridge-pole 
of  the  tent.  All  of  this  guarding  of  me  seemed  to  the  end  that 
I  must  be  prevented  from  spying,  and  the  multitudinous  soft  and 
whispering  musical  sounds,  for  the  purpose  of  lulling  me  to  sleep, 
that  I  might  not  hear  what  was  passing  on  beneath  me.  All  to  no 
purpose.  I  was  wide  awake.  I  had  even  gained  courage  through 
familiarity  with  these  unwelcome  visitors,  to  determine  to  brave 
the  worst,  and  was  about  to  arise  and  look  out  when  just  as  I 
put  my  foot  upon  the  ground  the  ominous  rattle  of  a  snake 


A  MUSICAL,  MYSTERY  459 

sounded  sharply  between  me  and  the  opening.  I  drew  back 
nearly  fainting  from  the  fright,  and  was  content  to  lie  still  and 
wonder  why  one  poor  little  helpless  woman  should  be  so  well 
guarded,  for  the  hiss  and  rattle  of  the  snake  in  this  freezing 
weather  convinced  me  that  it  was  indeed  I  whom  they  were 
watching  and  to  the  end  that  I  should  not  behold  the  mysteries. 
To  tell  the  truth  I  was  somewhat  proud  of  the  fact  that  I  re- 
quired so  strong  a  force  to  guard  me.  But  my  curiosity  was 
newly  aroused  and  I  would  have  given  much  to  have  been  per- 
mitted to  see  and  to  understand  that  which  I  could  hear,  it  is 
true,  but  imperfectly;  and  I  could  but  puzzle  over  the  riddle 
without  being  certain  that  I  had  rightly  guessed  it. 
*  *  * 

Late  in  the  night  I  was  startled  by  the  fact  that  the  innumer- 
able flocks  passed  directly  through  my  tent  and  to  my  horror  and 
dismay,  many  of  them  seemed  to  pass  through  me  as  well. 

#  *     # 

What  seemed  strangest  to  me  was  that  the  greater  percent  of 
the  myriads  of  different  objects  whether  in  human  semblance  or 
in  that  of  bird  or  beast  or  reptile  were  brought  into  my  presence 
for  the  sole  purpose,  as  it  would  seem,  of  identifying  me.  Who 
I  was,  or  had  been,  or  for  whom  I  had  been  mistaken,  was  to 
me  a  most  puzzling  question.  They  spoke  of  me  as  "  She, ' '  and 
during  all  of  the  time  I  heard  but  one  name  which  was  often 
shouted  singly  and  in  chorus  and  that  was  "Deavanna,"  and  it 
comforted  me  a  little  that  the  sound  was  glad  and  hopeful  like  a 

joyous  hail. 

*  #     # 

Just  before  daylight  the  crowds  upon  crowds  of  phantoms 
moved  a  little  farther  off  and  I  could  hear  from  out  the  utter 
silence  which  followed  this  movement,  a  solemn  commanding 
voice  which  appeared  to  issue  from  beneath  the  ground,  question- 
ing sternly.  But  whatever  the  purport  of  the  questions,  they 
were  each  in  turn  answered  by :  ' '  It  is  '  She. '  It  is  '  She. '  ' '  The 
hearing  seemed  a  long  one  to  me  for  I  somehow  realized  that 
it  was  I  who  was  now  upon  trial  and  I  felt  that  it  was  unfair 
that  I  alone  was  shut  out  and  guarded  from  the  hearing.  At 
length  the  result  was  announced.  The  deep  voice  of  the  judge 
trembled  and  quivered  as  it  cried  in  consternation :  "It  is  'she.' 
But  'she'  is  innocent." 

"  'She'  is  innocent.    'She'  is  innocent.    'She'  is  innocent." 


460  LA   GRAN  QUIBIRA 

The  verdict  was  announced  by  the  courier  owls  in  startled  and 
incredulous  tones,  a  sort  of  horror  mingling  with  it  all,  and  I 
sank  back  exhausted  yet  thankful  that  whatever  had  been  the 
dreadful  accusation  against  me,  I  had  been  falsely  accused.  So 
great  indeed  was  my  prostration  that  I  slept  with  little  inter- 
mission for  the  next  three  days  and  nights. 

*  *     * 

During  this  dread  time,  too,  another  startling  thing  had  oc- 
curred. I  distinctly  heard  a  wagon  draw  up  on  the  hill  one 
afternoon  and  no  one  appearing  I  gave  forth  repeatedly  my 
most  artistic  war  whoop,  to  which  I  received  no  response  what- 
ever. 

*  *     * 

Later  there  was  a  shot  fired  so  near  to  my  tent  as  to  anger 
me  because  of  its  dangerous  proximity.  I  was  busy  at  the  time 
and  it  was  some  time  before  my  work  permitted  me  to  go  out- 
side. When  I  did  so,  I  again  gave  vent  to  my  most  piercing 
yells  with,  as  it  seemed,  no  effect  whatever.  A  short  time  after- 
ward my  Mexican  neighbor  came  in.  I  questioned  him  about 
the  shot  and  he  declared  that  he  had  fired  it.  "I  will  not  have 
any  shooting  so  near  my  tent,"  I  said.  "It  is  dangerous  and  I 
want  no  more  of  it  upon  my  grounds." 

"I  but  shot  at  a  crow,"  he  explained. 

"Hast  thou  brought  me  water?"  I  questioned  rather  sug- 
gestively, for  I  had  told  him  repeatedly  that  I  did  not  ex- 
pect any  one  to  come  upon  my  land  unless  they  brought  my  ne- 
cessary supplies. 

"D'erme  agua*."  he  said  and  when  I  had  given  him  a  drink 
of  the  water  that  I  had  bought  of  him,  (not  one  of  them  ever 
failed  to  ask  for  water  when  they  came  up  the  hill)  I  remarked 
that  the  man  semed  ready  to  drop  from  fatigue  or  fright  and 
was  trembling  from  head  to  foot.  He  said  he  had  been  out  all 
day  looking  for  some  sheep  which  had  strayed  from  his  flock 
upon  the  previous  day.  This  was  to  explain  his  presence  upon 
this  forbidden  ground,  and  I  accepted  it,  telling  him  that  if  he 
had  kept  his  flocks  where  they  belonged  he  need  not  have  had  to 
search  my  hill  for  the  missing  ones.  I  was  half  laughing,  half 
scolding,  but  expressed  my  regret  at  his  loss.  He  soon  went  away 
but  returned  a  half  hour  later  to  tell  me  he  had  found  five  of  his 
lest  sheep  just  where  I  had  told  him  I  had  heard  the  flock  the 
day  before.  "Do  you  see  them?  Do  you  see  them?"  he  asked 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  461 

excitedly,  raising  his  gun  in  a  strangely  suspicious  manner  as  I 
thought. 

"I  do  not  see  so  far,"  I  replied.  "I  am  very  glad,  how- 
ever, that  thou  hast  found  them.  I  should  be  sorry  hadst  thou 
lest  them." 

Then  he  asked  suddenly:  "When  is  the  man  Dick  coming 
back?" 

"Never,  that  I  am  aware,"  I  replied. 

"But  he  told  me  he  was  coming  back  to  work  for  you." 

I  laughed.  "Dick  the  Rover  belongs  to  the  class  that  will 
not  work,"  I  replied.  "Besides,  I  could  not  have  a  stranger 
here.  I  expect  the  sons  of  a  friend  to  come  for  the  summer, 
when  their  school  is  out.  Until  then  I  expect  thou  and  thy  boys 
to  wait  upon  me." 

"Dick  had  much  money,"  he  said,  but  seemed  pleased  that 
I  did  not  expect  him  to  return.  And  he  went  away  apparently 
satisfied,  but  came  back  once  more. 

"The  sheep,"  he  cried  excitedly,  waving  his  gun  about  and 
pointing  with  it  over  the  brow  of  the  hili .  "Do  you  not  see  my 
sheep  feeding  there?" 

"No,"  I  answered  sadly,  "Thou  knowest  I  cannot  see  so 
far  as  that.  But  I  am  glad  thou  hast  found  them."  Again  he 
seemed  satisfied  with  my  answer  and  lowering  his  gun  he  bade 
me  a  quiet  "good  evening."  And  that  was  the  last  I  saw  of 
my  neighbor  for  some  time  to  come.  But  I,  who  am  prone  to 
take  note  of  small  items,  noted  that  this  was  the  last  time  he 

ever  came  upon  the  hill  alone. 

*     *     # 

But  after  this  an  unaccountable  terror  possessed  me.  I  had 
not  known  any  tangible  fear  before  this,  but  now  I  seemed  to 
feel  murder  in  the  air.  Each  time  I  went  out  into  the  open  I 
was  driven  in  again  with  an  indefinable  dread  of  the  bullet  of  an 
assassin;  and  if  I  heard  a  distant  shot  I  ran  hurriedly  into  the 
tent  for  safety.  Three  times  I  started  to  follow  the  sound 
of  a  voice  I  heard  calling,  but  something  forced  me  to  turn  back 
each  time  when  within  but  a  few  paces  of  the  tent,  and  to  hastily 
seek  shelter  there.  I  tried,  but  without  avail,  to  overcome  this 
weakness,  for  the  only  conclusion  to  which  I  could  arrive  was 
that  I  courted  unnecessary  danger  to  myself.  For  should  aught 


462  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

have  happened  to  another  (to  my  dime  novel  hero  as  I  had  reason 
to  suspect)  I  was  powerless  to  aid  him,  as  the  only  persons 
within  reach  of  summons  were  those  who  had  placed  him  where 
he  was. 

#  *     * 

I  was  always  well-guarded  by  things  both  tangible  and  in- 
tangible. This  sense  of  being  eternally  watched  was  most  irritat- 
ing to  me.  Each  night  my  tent  was  occupied  by  forms  unseen 
but  not  unheard.  And  it  was  not  long  ere  I  began  to  distin- 
guish those  which  were  friendly  to  me  from  the  over-zealous,  and 
I  began  to  understand  that  their  real  object  was  to  intimidate  me 
and  prevent  me  from  prying  into  matters  forbidden  me  to  behold, 
yet  that  none  dared  really  to  injure  me  or  to  offer  me  bodily 
harm.  But  this  watching  of  my  every  movement  when  I  walked 
abroad  made  me  extremely  uncomfortable.  I  had  many  proofs 
that  I  was  not  mistaken  in  my  suspicions.  For  instance :  I  had 
determined  upon  building  my  house  upon  the  top  of  a  certain 
hillock,  the  highest  point  upon  my  land,  and  fearing  that  I  might 
be  compelled  to  quit  the  place  for  a  short  time  to  purchase  neces- 
sary supplies  and  to  push  other  claims  etc.,  I  circled  this  hill 
many  times.  Twice  I  had  to  make  good  my  return  to  camp  as 
best  I  might,  as  I  found  my  "leading  string"  broken.  I  tried 
to  believe  this  the  result  of  accident  but  could  but  doubt,  and 
was  convinced  that  it  was  not,  when  upon  one  occasion  I  twice 
sat  down  to  rest,  each  time  at  a  tree  which  grew  in  the  middle  of 

the  aroya,  blocking  it. 

#  *     * 

I  had  years  before  formed  the  opinion  that  the  rows  of  rocks 
found  at  the  foot  of  every  old  cedar  or  pinyon  tree  had  been 
placed  there  in  order  to  hold  the  water  and  to  secure  the  moisture 
necessary  to  its  growth.  All  of  these  natives  believe  that  I  am  a 
witch  and  that  I  know  where  both  the  water  and  the  treasure  are 
concealed.  I  share  their  belief  in  the  latter  case,  at  least. 

#  #     * 

I  was  convinced  that  I  was  under  a  continual  surveillance, 
when  I  visited  the  same  spot  three  or  four  days  later  and  found 
the  rocks  removed  from  beneath  one  of  the  trees  in  this  aroya  and 
one  of  the  two  trees  which  had  blocked  up  the  way,  and  under 
which  I  had  buried  an  empty  can,  entirely  removed.  I  was  furi- 
ous and  gave  vent  to  my  anger  in  no  measured  terms  both  in 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  463 

English  and  in  Spanish  that  my  words  might  be  more  readily 
understood,  and  to  the  effect  that  the  two  boys  who  herded  the 
sheep  of  my  Mexican  neighbor  came  forward  protesting  their 
own  innocence.  After  giving  them  a  thorough  blowing  up  and 
issuing  stern  orders  for  their  future  conduct,  we  compromised 
matters,  and  the  elder  of  the  two  boys  expressed  his  willingness 
to  escort  me  to  the  ruins  which  I  seldom  approached,  being 
afraid  to  venture  alone  among  the  numerous  deep  and  dangerous 
holes  dug  there  by  the  treasure  seekers.  I  have  a  real  admiration 
for  my  own  bravery  when  I  think  of  the  child-like  confidence 
with  which  I  placed  my  hand  within  the  lad's  arm  knowing  that 
all  these  people  were  inimical  to  me  and  did  not  want  my  pres- 
ence there.  Then  the  procession  got  under  way.  It  was  made  up 
of  the  boy  and  myself,  the  other  small  boy  and  of  two  hundred 
bleating  scampering  goats.  We  had  considerable  fun  out  of  the 
expedition.  I  laughed  much,  scolded  more,  and  wandered  over 
the  ruins  to  my  heart's  content,  expecting  every  minute  to  be 
pushed  by  one  or  other  of  my  guides  into  some  hole  in  the  ground, 
there  to  cry  in  vain  for  deliverance  as  I  could  still  hear  that 
mysterious  voice  doing ;  but  keeping  my  suspicions  to  myself  ex- 
cept to  demand  if  they  heard  no  one  and  to  ask  why  they  avoided 
certain  points  to  which  I  had  directed  them  and  which  orders 
they,  after  the  true  Mexican  fashion,  "no  comprender"-ed. 

Upon  our  return  I  regaled  the  two  boys  upon  the  accustomed 
frijoles  and  chili,  and  when  they  were  gone  I  sat  me  down  to 
rest  and  to  watch  the  eternal  procession  which  passed  in  front 
of  my  temporary  habitation. 


There  now  appeared  to  me,  walking  alone  in  the  procession 
of  the  flame-enveloped  forms  that  were  hurrying  past  me,  four- 
abreast,  with  crackling  garments,  a  well-grown  child  of  perhaps 
six  or  seven  years  of  age  perfectly  nude,  with  golden  hair,  whose 
faultless  limbs  shone  like  polished  ivory  in  the  golden  light  of 
the  sun.  This  was  without  doubt  the  figure  of  one  whom  they 
had  here  offered  up  a  living  sacrifice  to  their  gods. 


I  noted  with  something  akin  to  horror  that  the  spirit  or 
material  visitor  from  another  sphere  whose  duty  it  was  to  usher 


464  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

those  t  summoned    who  entered  the  subterranean  vaults  which 
led  into  the  blacksmith's  forge,  appeared  to  be  either  blind  or 

blind-folded. 

*  *     # 

From  the  forge  itself  many  more  distinct  sounds  issued  in  in- 
terminable routine. 

*  *     * 

On  the  fifth  day  of  May,  a  day  so  windy  and  stormy  that  I 
passed  most  of  it  in  bed,  but  listening  intently,  I  heard  most 
beautiful  music  proceeding  from  the  old  church.  It  was  a  grand 
orchestral  concert  of  sacred  music,  with,  an  occasional  solo,  but  all 
of  these  were  rendered  in  the  same  voice,  the  voice  of  but  one 
person  alone — an  exquisite  baritone,  so  rich  and  bell-like  in  its 
tones,  that  it  was  beyond  comparison  with  any  voice  I  had  ever 

heard.    It  was  simply  superb. 

*  *     * 

What  seemed  BO  strange  to  me,  as  compared  with  all  I  had 
ever  heard  concerning  spiritualistic  manifestations,  was  the  fact 
that  I  both  saw  and  heard  things  at  their  natural  size  and  dis- 
tance, and  with  the  absence  of  all  supernatural  elements.  Every- 
thing was  so  real  and  common-place,  like  that  which  I  have  just 
described,  as  to  many  times  deceive  me  into  believing  them  to  be 
the  actual  occurrences  of  the  moment  and  not  some  echo  from  the 

past. 

*  *     * 

Another  thing  made  itself  manifest  to  me.  This  was  that 
all  these  mystifying  events  occurred  at  stated  periods,  and  these 
the  anniversaries  of  the  actual  events. 

*  *     * 

Twice  I  went  over  to  the  hillock  upon  which  I  meant  to 
build  my  house.  Aside  from  the  fact  that  it  was  the  highest 
point  upon  the  ground  and  commanded  the  most  perfect  view, 
there  was  the  possibility  of  terracing  down  to  the  aroya,  which 
could  be  converted  into  a  beautiful  walk.  The  two  times  of  which 
I  speak,  I  heard  near  the  point  upon  which  I  had  planned  to 
build,  a  crackling  sound  as  if  a  great  fire  was  burning  there. 
This  was  soon  after  I  had  come  upon  the  land,  and  before  I  had 
found  anything  to  fear.  I  was  puzzled  but  determined  that  it 
must  be  the  sound  of  insects  stirring  and  buzzing  in  the  grass.  I 
went  to  the  place  at  once,  as  was  my  habit  when  startled  by  any 
new  occurrence.  I  stooped  down  and  thoroughly  examined  the 


A  MUSICAL,  MYSTERY  465 

ground,  but  found  no  evidence  of  insect  life  to  account  for  the 
crackling  sound,  which  continued  as  before,  and  it  was  too 
early  in  the  season  for  this.  Instead,  the  ground  over  which  I 
swept  my  hand,  was  hot  to  my  touch.  I  placed  my  hand  again 
and  again  upon  the  earth  with  the  same  result.  I  could  not  hold 
it  there  without  burning.  I  was  greatly  puzzled  at  this  for  as 
I  made  my  way  down  the  hill  I  halted  many  times  by  the  way  to 
feel  the  earth  along  my  return  path,  but  nowhere  did  I  meet  with 
the  same  result.  The  remainder  of  the  hill  was  cool  to  my  touch. 

*  *     * 

A  little  bird  flew  to  the  back  of  my  tent  one  afternoon  and 
catching  sight  of  me,  as  it  seemed,  it  rested  upon  the  nearest 
tree  and  cried  out  in  tones  of  great  surprise:  "Why  there  is 
Mrs.  J— ."  Then  as  if  doubting  the  evidence  of  its  own  senses, 
repeated  with  an<  accent  upon  the  'is' :  "Why,  there  is  Mrs.J  — ." 

I  called  to  it  in  vain.  The  little  thing  flew  to  the  south  with- 
out answering  my  appeal.  The  voice  was  like  that  of  one  whom 
I  knew  here,  yet  was  unmistakeably  that  of  a  child. 

What  seemed  more  strange,  weeks  after  this,  the  same  voiced 
bird  lit  upon  a  tree  beside  which  I  was  standing  (this  was  to- 
ward the  latter  part  of  my  stay  upon  this  ground)  and  said  in  a 
lowered  tone  full  of  pity  and  of  sorrow  and  it  seemed  to  me  of 
reproach  as  well:  "Oh,  Mrs.  J.  Mrs.  J." 

*  *     * 

The  mocking  birds  came  in  great  numbers  during  the  latter 
part  of  April  and  early  in  May  and  were  pleasant  company  for 
me.  They  took  an  active  part  in  all  that  passed.  We  chattered 
and  talked  and  sang  to  each  other  solos,  duetts  and  grand  chor- 
uses much  to  the  amazement  of  the  chance  human-being  who 
came  our  way. 

It  was  startling  to  me  at  first  to  hear  some  short  sentence 
plainly  articulated  by  one  of  these  birds.  They  grew  to  know 
me,  and  would  come  at  my  call.  When  they  saw  me  sit  down 
to  eat  they  would  clamor  loudly  for  "something  to  eat,"  and  no 
matter  how  short  my  rations,  I  always  shared  with  them. 

But  all  did  not  respond  and  I  soon  found  that  these  talking 
birds  were  among  my  watchers. 

*  *     * 

I  walked  out  one  day  farther  than  was  my  wont  without  my 
leading  string,  and  as  a  matter  of  course  I  lost  my  way.  It 


466  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA. 

is  my  invariable  habit  under  such  circumstances  to  turn  in  the 
opposite  direction  from  the  one  I  should  have  taken.  The 
sun  which  would  have  guided  me  was  veiled  by  clouds  and  I 
was  wandering  aimlessly  about,  when  one  of  my  bird  friends 
came  close  to  me  and,  as  I  suppose,  hearing  what  I  had  spoken, 
(I  have  the  habit  of  those  who  live  much  alone  of  talking  to 
myself,)  said:  "You  are  wrong!  You  are  wrong!  Come  this 
way.  This  way. ' '  I  obediently  followed  the  voice  and  soon  came 
to  the  doorway  of  my  tent,  thanks  to  my  friendly  guide. 

*  *     * 

I  am  certain  now  that  many  of  the  old-time  fancies  are  cor- 
rect and  that,  impossible  as  it  seems,  there  is  more  truth  than 
fiction  in  the  Arabian  Nights.  For  instance,  I  am  convinced 
that  souls  or  spirits  take  upon  themselves  the  likeness  of  birds 
and  beasts,  temporarily  at  least. 

*  *     * 

During  all  of  this  time,  as  I  have  said,  the  mysterious  sounds 
at  the  blacksmith's  forge  increased  rather  than  diminished.  I 
could  hear  the  roar  of  the  flames  when  started  into  new  life  by 
the  puffing  of  the  bellows;  the  agonized  shriek  of  some  victim 
to  the  torture ;  and  the  children  at  their  lessons  just  next  door ; 
the  hymn  of  the  missionaries  which  was  repeated  by  the  well 
known  voices  of  the  teacher  and  her  pupils ;  the  evening  prayer, 
or  rather  the  prayer  for  the  sick  and  the  dying,  of  the  Catholic 
faith.  This  was  always  given  in  a  fresh  young  voice  which 
sounded  very  pleasant  in  my  ears,  and  who  seemed  yet  to  be- 
long to  the  school,  all  of  which  joined  at  intervals  in  the  prayer, 
and  which  in  truth  seemed  to  be  the  leading  spirit  of  the  childish 
voices  at  least.  These  voices  might  have  belonged  to  two  chil- 
dren but  they  seemed  to  be  the  same  and  I  could  not  determine 
whether  it  was  the  voice  of  a  boy  or  that  of  a  girl  for  it  had  that 
pert  forward  sound  which  belongs  to  the  youth  of  both  sexes. 

*  *     * 

I  succeeded,  as  I  have  said,  in  fixing  a  few  dates  in  my 
memory  and  I  remember  it  was  upon  the  fifteenth  day  of  May 
that  the  sounds  of  the  school  room  came  to  the  front  as  it  were. 
All  through  the  afternoon  I  heard  the  regular  school  routine, 
and  at  about  four  o'clock  the  scholars  began  the  song  which 
closed  their  school  exercises  for  the  day.  In  the  midst  of  this 
they  were  surprised  by  visitors.  Stern  voices  questioned  and 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  467 

were  answered,  the  "goody-good"  boy  or  girl  to  the  front  as 
usual.  There  was  no  mistaking  the  sound.  This  was  an  ex- 
amination of  the  Inquisition. 

The  person  accused  was  he  who  called  incessantly:  "Oh, 
God!  O,  Dios!"  and  his  accusers  were  the  teacher  and  her 
scholars.  The  denunciation  was  loud  and  emphatic.  Twice  the 
wretch  broke  from  the  hold  of  his  jailers  but  was  brought  back 
again.  I  followed  the  sound  of  his  cries  of : ' '  Oh,  God !  0,  Dios ! ' ' 
and  that  of  the  pursuing  footsteps,  and  had  there  been  any  previ- 
ous doubts  in  my  mind  as  to  the  existence  of  the  subterranean 
passage,  these  were  now  dispelled.  I  had  excitedly  made  haste 
to  the  ground  above  this,  hoping  that  he  might  elude  his  pursu- 
ers. I  am  almost  ashamed  to  own  the  fact  but  my  sympathy  was 
with  the  tortured  wretch,  and  honest  as  was  the  voice  of  the  fore- 
most of  his  accuser,  my  pert  little  boy  or  girl,  I  somehow  got  the 
impression  that  the  accusation  was  false.  I  hoped  not  only  that 
he  might  escape  their  hands,  but  that  I,  by  noting  the  direction 
of  these  sounds,  might  be  able  to  establish  the  point  at  which  this 
passage  began,  beyond  all  further  question.  But  to  my  dismay 
he  turned  back  from  the  opening  for  which  he  had  made,  scream- 
ing  with  horror.  For  there  he  had  been  met  as  it  seemed  by  the 
praying  Samuel,  whom  I  had  identified  with  Miss  Malapert,  but 
whom  should  it  ever  be  my  good  fortune  to  hear  again,  I  shall 
in  the  light  of  something  I  have  since  learned,  address  by  the 
name  of  Estavan.  Here  the  poor  wretch  was  recaptured  and— 
"what  did  his  cruel  captors  do  to  him?" 

A  pain  shot  through  my  eyeballs,  and  I  echoed  his  shriek  of 
agony  and  needed  not  to  be  told  that  they  had  put  out  his  sight. 
*  *  * 

Just  then  a  flock  of  sheep  crossing  the  ground,  passed  in 
front  of,  and  upon  a  level  with,  this  passage;  each  sheep,  as  it 
appeared,  bleating  as  it  passed  that  particular  point,  and  each 
seemed  to  articulate  distinctly  with  mocking  accent,  ' '  Oh,  God ! 
0,  Dios!"  Then  I  knew  by  the  reverberation  that  the  passage- 
way was  indeed  there  and  not  blocked  up  as  I  had  feared. 

I  was  in  a  passion  and  called  to  the  unpitying  sheep  as  they 
passed :  ' '  Why  dost  thou  mock  him  1  Is  he  not  punished  enough  ? 
For  if  this  goes  on  forever,  surely  it  is  enough." 

Then  my  bird-watcher  cried  scornfully:  "Pity  him!  Pity 
him!"  And  not  the  least  abashed  I  answered:  "I  do  pity 


468  LA  GRAN  QUIBIEA 

him.  Deserted  by  God  and  by  man  as  it  would  seem,  I  do  pity 
him  from  the  very  bottom  of  my  heart,  and  I  will  pray  for  him 
too, ' '  which  I  then  did  and  from  the  depths  of  my  pitying  heart. 


After  this  the  child  semed  to  offer  up  its  daily  prayer  close 
by  my  side  and  its  voice  trembled  and  shook  as  it  repeated  the 
prayer  with  which  I  had  become  familiar  at  the  St.  Francis  Hos- 
pital here.  I  remembered  well  its  every  intonation.  Upon  the 
third  day,  the  sound  ceased  and  it  was  some  time  before  I  heard 
the  prayer  again. 


A  little  bird  had  been  hatched  in  a  nest  near  by,  and  I  could 
now  hear  the  shrill  piping  of  its  baby  voice,  at  which  I  was 
greatly  amused.  Whenever  it  piped,  I  mocked  and  taunted  it, 
declaring  it  to  be  my  belief  that  he  could  never  become  a  singer, 
but  I  was  mistaken.  The  wee  thing  which  had  a  pert,  saucy  note, 
seemed  to  be  a  favorite  with  all  the  rest  of  the  birds,  who  each 
came  by  turn  to  instruct  it,  and  every  hour  of  the  day  and  the 
night  the  air  rang  with  the  notes  of  the  teachers  and  of  this 
favored  pupil. 

It  was  most  amazing  the  progress  made  by  this  abitious  stu- 
dent, and  in  a  very  little  while  its  sweet  notes  and  words  (for  it 
was  a  talking  as  well  as  a  singing  bird  which  all  mocking  birds 
are  not)  outrivalled  all  the  rest.  The  very  shrillness  of  its  voice 
painful  to  the  ear  as  it  was  in  its  first  efforts,  lent  to  it  compass 
and  sweetness.  The  little  beggar  knew  me  and  would  come  at 
my  call. 

Each  day  all  of  these,  my  bird  companions,  would  be  per- 
fectly silent  going  to  a  distance  perhaps  to  feed  and  I  would  be 
in  an  agony  of  fear  lest  they  had  deserted  me  or  been  driven  out- 
side the  limits  of  my  prison  barriers,  but  my  cry  of  "birdie! 
sweet ! ' '  was  always  answered  from  far  and  near  and  I  was  com- 
forted. I  do  not  know  when  I  first  became  convinced  that  this 
little  songster  held  the  spirit  of  my  praying  Samuel,  but  so  it 
was. 

Later  this  idea  was  confirmed,  for  upon  the  sixth  day  of 
June  at  sunset  when  all  of  these  restless  spirits  were  housed 
again  in  their  tombs,  this  little  bird  disappeared  nor  did  it  ever 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  469 

appear  again;  and  at  the  same  time  the  evening  prayer  was  re- 
sumed. 

*  *     * 

Many  more  things  transpired.  When  I  grew  afraid  to  walk 
abroad  I  spent  my  forenoons  in  my  tent  thinking  or  working,  and 
the  afternoons  in  its  shade  watching  what  passed  on  around  me. 
There  I  beheld  the  great  loom  of  human  destiny  at  work,  and 
shuddered  that  the  web  surrounded  me  so  closely  and  seemed  to 
curtain  me  off  from  the  rest  of  the  world,  but  smiled  when  its 
dark  meshes  seemed  interwoven  with  bright  threads  and  those  of 

shining  gold. 

#  *     * 

Then  I  saw  a  gallows  suspended  over  the  blacksmith's  forge. 
At  first  it  was  empty  then  tenanted'  by  one,  two  then  three  black- 
robed  and  black-capped  figures  in  succession,  and  I  seemed  to 
understand  whose  these  figures  were. 

#  #     * 

I  beheld  the  sowing,  the  reaping,  the  harvesting  and  the 
gleaning  of  which  Christ  spake  and  which  we  have  never  been 
taught  to  take  in  its  literal  sense,  yet  which  He  but  truthfully 

depicted. 

*  *     * 

When  the  "forty  days"  of  the  hearing  were  accomplished, 
I  saw  the  great  stillyards,  weighted  with  forms  human,  both  large 
and  small,  swung  and  put  in  motion  by  the  black-robed  judges, 
and  they  were  presided  over  by  the  white  and  shining  winged 
beings  who  never  descended  from  a  certain  height  above  the 
earth  and  whose  duty  it  was  to  separate  those  worthy  from  those 
unworthy. 

But  so  far  as  I  could  see  they  lowered  all  to  a  place  within 
the  precincts.  I  watched  the  black-robed  and  hooded  forms, 
so  close  yet  so  indistinct.  They  took  up  their  station  near  the 
place  where  Dime-Novel-Dick  had  camped.  They  worked  in 
dead  silence,  yet  moved  from  time  to  time  to  one  side  or  the 
other  of  the  great  balances  as  the  verdict  seemed  to  warrant,  and 
assumed  a  threatening  aspect  if  I  approached  too  near. 

I  was  so  curious  at  the  last,  and  had  grown  so  accustomed 
to  their  sudden  appearance  in  the  middle  of  each  afternoon,  that 
in  spite  of  the  evident  uneasiness  of  my  bird  friends  and  of  their 


470  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

repeated  warnings  (these  had  retreated  when  this  scene  began  to 
the  second  row  of  trees  beyond)  I  walked  one  evening  straight 
through  the  densest  group,  a  little  bird  crying :  ' '  No.  No.  Don 't 
go.  Don't  go."  But  I  went  on,  staring  straight  back  into  the 
threatening  eyes  of  the  black-robed  figures,  and  knew  that  my 
fancy  had  not  betrayed  me  into  error.  For  these  threatening 
somber  figures  deliberately  stepped  aside  at  my  near  approach 
and  reluctantly  made  way  for  me  to  pass,  closing  their  ranks 
again  after  I  had  passed  through.  And  bless  me,  what  a  twitter- 
ing there  was  among  the  unseen  birds,  which  sounded  remark- 
ably like  laughter  for  I  had  said  aloud  in  pure  bravado:  "I 
will  pass  through  here.  Touch  me  at  thy  peril." 


One  odd  thing  about  all  this  was  the  fact  that  although  I 
seemed  to  be  an  important  factor  in  the  whole  proceeding,  I  al- 
ways formed  an  idea,  of  things  which  was  directly  opposed  to  the 
truth,  and  I  found  that  this  erroneous  idea  was  always  corrected 
in  some  way  or  another.  Thus,  as  I  sat  watching  the  ever-chang- 
ing procession  and  saw  the  children  pass  in  groups  guarded  and 
guided  by  parents  or  teachers,  after  noting  with  pleasure  the 
squads  of  girls  pass  by,  there  came  a  long  procession  of  awkward 
half  grown  boys,  evidently  a  school.  I  laughed  and  laughed 
again  at  the  ungainly  clumsy  movements  of  all,  teasingly  assur- 
ing them  that  they  were  neither  "man  nor  boy,  but  (each  were) 
a  hobble-de-hoy, ' '  and  especially  did  the  shambling  figure  of  the 
one  who  brought  up  the  rear  excite  my  mirth;  when  suddenly 
the  form  stood  out  in  plain  relief  and  my  laughter  was  smothered 
in  a  cry  of  horror  as  I  saw  that  this  was  the  form  of  one  from 
whose  bones  the  flesh  had  been  stripped  and  to  which  bloody 
fragments  still  clung.  And  I  sprang  up  crying :  ' '  Tell,  oh,  tell 
me,  who  has  done  this  cruel  thing?"  but  the  answer  was  only 
made  by  that  terrible  moan  I  had  learned  to  call  the  wail 
of  the  lost  spirit,  and  a  softly-spoken  prayer. 


Then  another  voice  whispered  a  name.  And  I  beheld  what 
seemed  a  smaller  likeness  to  this  bloody  skeleton  (which  I  am  cer- 
tain I  saw  returned  to  the  grave  upon  the  sixth  of  June  and  this 
was  upon  a  much  later  date)  and  the  voice  which  answered  my 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  471 

oft-repeated  hail  cried  as  if  in  the  agonies  of  death,  "Mamma! 
Mamma ! ' ' 

*  *     # 

This  must,  too,  at  one  period  have  been  occupied  as  a  slave 
mart  or  pen,  for  beneath  and  very  near,  yet  outside  the  chamber 
of  the  Inquisition,  which  I  now  knew  as  the  blacksmith's  forge, 
the  unquiet  spirits  had  been  hurried  to  their  tombs  where  it 
took  the  entire  night  to  quiet  them.  And  here  their  cries  were 
so  pitiful  that  I  was  completely  unnerved  by  them. 

*  *     # 

It  was  just  at  sunset  upon  this,  the  sixth  of  June,  when  the 
last  of  this  portion  of  the  never-ending  procession  was  driven 
down  into  the  earth  again.  The  guards  were  of  great  size  and 
were  many  in  number,  and  their  beats  were  very  short.  Their 
robes  were  striped  and  spotted,  some  with  black  and  some  with 
the  red  of  blood.  Poor  blood-stained  wretch!  I  thought, 
' '  How  great  his  sins !  How  numberless  his  crimes !  How  vast  his 
strength !  But  what  have  I  to  do  with  all  this?  Why  are  all  eyes 
fixed  upon  me?  Is  it  that  I  alone  have  the  power  to  see  and  t6 
hear,  if  not  prevented?  And  that  all  this  is  meant  to  be  hidden 
from  mortals?"  But  no  answer  was  given  to  my  appeals  and  I 
was,  and  am  unable  still,  to  solve  these  doubts. 

*  *     * 

There  was  one  here  who  went  about  crooning  to  himself 
some  old-time  melody,  and  who  was  apparently  searching  for 
something,  for  he  seemed  to  examine  closely  every  water-worn 
rock  as  he  passed.  I  knew  this  unseen  singer  as  the  "Water- 
witch. 

*  *     # 

There  are  many  who  believe  that  Christ,  the  Redeemer,  is 
still  undergoing  the  tortures  of  His  crucifixion  in  spirit.  From 
many  of  the  things  that  I  heard,  the  terrible  conviction  settled 
upon  me  that  here  at  this  time  the  crucifixion  was  being  enacted 
literally.  I  cannot  tell  the  precise  moment  when  this  passion 
play  ended,  and  I  heard  His  voice  above  the  ground;  nor  how 
I  came  to  know  that  the  signal  of  the  golden  bell  was  His. 

I  had  heard  this  bell  strike  in  the  middle  of  the  night  and 
sprang  up,  and  without  fear  hastened  out,  calling :  ' '  Gentle  Shep- 
herd !  Gentle  Shepherd !  Wait  and  speak  to  me, ' '  and  there  the 
Gentle  Shepherd  halted,  to  respond  to  my  call,  His  figure  sur- 


472  LA  GRAN  QUIBIBA 

rounded  by  a  radiance  from  the  light  of  His  own  glory,  and  He 
smiled  back  at  me  and  questioned  me.  But  oh,  how  wan,  how 
haggard  and  sorrowful  was  the  beautiful  face,  shining  through 
that  expression  of  most  intense  suffering.  I  may  not  here  de- 
scribe this  short  interview.  The  sound  which  I  had  heard,  and 
had  believed  to  be  the  striking  of  a  golden  bell  or  clock,  was  the 
note  of  a  beautiful  bird  which  was  perched  upon  the  shoulder 
of  the  Saviour,  and  by  this  His  flock  was  guided. 

The  plumage  of  this  sweet-toned  bird  gleamed  pearl  white  in 
the  moonlight,  then  seemed  to  scintillate  and  to  sparkle  with 
every  hue  of  the  rainbow. 

' '  Wait  thou  until  I  come  again, ' '  was  His  farewell  to  me  as 

He  passed  out  of  sight,  followed  by  his  flock. 

*  #     * 

During  all  this  time  I  had  managed  to  exist— somehow.  My 
supplies,  however,  began  to  run  short  at  the  end  of  three  months. 
I  had  eaten  all  the  "goodies"  up  during  the  first  of  these.  There 
was  nothing  to  be  had  for  love  and  nothing  but  dead  flour  and 
coffee,  for  money,  of  which  I  had  little.  The  Mexican  at  the 
foot  of  the  hill  moved  his  family  away  on  the  fifteenth  day 
of  May  without  bringing  me  any  water  or  making  arrangements 
with  any  one  else  to  supply  me  with  this  necessity.  An  elderly 
German,  whom  the  Mexican  called  "Aleckee,"  who  took  his 
place  at  the  store  had  no  means  whatever  of  carrying  it  to  my 
camp.  I  was  eager  to  get  away  for  a  short  time  to  purchase  sup- 
plies and  to  attend  to  necessary  business  matters  but  could  get 
no  one  to  take  me.  I  was  anxious  now,  having  fulfilled  my  time, 
to  get  where  I  could  raise  sufficient  money  to  place  the  required 
improvements  upon  my  land  and  lay  open  these  underground 
ruins  for  the  benefit  of  the  scientific  world  and  for  my  own  en- 
richment as  well.  I  have  no  intention  of  recording  all  the  hard- 
ships I  was  called  upon  to  endure. 

I  did  not  seem  to  worry  about  them  at  the  time,  and  I  do 
not  wish  to  do  so  now.  I  said:  "The  Lord  will  provide,"  and 
so  He  did.  Sometimes  He  made  the  devil  His  agent  in  the  mat- 
ter, but  that  was  His  business,  not  mine,  and  I  ate  the  bread  thus 
supplied  with  as  much  relish  as  if  it  had  been  heavenly  manna, 
which  I  am  bound  to  confess  it  did  not  resemble  in  the  slightest 

degree. 

*  *     * 

"When  my  Mexican  neighbor  went  away  I  was  over-run  by 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  473 

the  herds  and' flocks  of  another  Mexican.  I  forbade  his  shep- 
herds the  ground,  but  to  small  purpose.  They  went  and  came 
at  their  will  and  I  could  hear  them  digging  in  the  ruins  although 
they  denied  that  they  did  so.  I  confess  that  I  felt  quite  uneasy 
when  I  noticed  that  these  herders  were  never  seen  nor  heard 
when  chance  tourists  or  Americans  were  on  the  ground,  yet  I 
made  use  of  these  nine  herders  who  came,  in  turn,  as  it  would 
seem.  I  hired  the  burro  boys  to  bring  me  water. 

I  was  entirely  out  of  bread,  and  had  no  flour,  when  a  strange 
Mexican  came  along.  I  asked  him  to  accompany  me  to  the  store 
and  down  the  hill  we  strolled  arm  in  arm.  I  think  we  must 
have  been  a  show,  for  I  was  in  rags  and  tatters  and  Ignaxcio 
was  in  tatters  and  rags.  But  I  of  course  had  not  had  the  op- 
portunity to  dress  and  this  was  Ignaxcio 's  usual  costume. 

We  purchased  a  few  pounds  of  flour  and  returning  past  the 
old  church  we  heard  some  one  digging  there.  This  I  had  forbid- 
den, and  I  hastened  to  see  who  the  intruders  were.  I  found  two 
men,  and  was  afterward  assured  that  there  was  a  third  whack- 
ing away.  I  called  out  to  them  sharply  and  they  answered  me 
most  impertinently.  These  persons  refused  to  give  me  their 
names  and  declared  their  intention  to  do  as  they  chose  upon  the 
ground,  demanding  that  I  show  them  my  papers,  improvements 
etc.,  that  they  might  be  certain  of  the  legality  of  my  claim  to  the 
land  upon  which  the  ruins  were  situated. 

We  had  a  lively  dispute  but  I  came  out  ahead  and  they 
agreed  to  desist  and  to  leave  the  ground.  I  could  hear  digging 
all  the  time  but  saw  no  one  for  several  days,  when  these  same 
parties  returned  and  making  me  a  present  of  some  blankets  which 
I  now  believe  to  have  been  a  part  of  the  outfit  of  Dick  the  Rover, 
meekly  requested  permission  of  me  to  "look  about  the  place"  a 
little  more,  asserting  that  they  had  not  been  upon  the  ground 
since  our  little  "racket" — which  statement  I  afterward  learned 
was  true. 

I  gathered  from  various  sources  the  information  that  these 
three  men  had  brought  down  from  Colorado,  three  fine  horses, 
which  were  claimed  by  the  invisible  third,  and  which  were  a 
part  of  the  goods  taken  from  the  American  who  had  lived  at 

the  Living  Waters  ranch. 

*     *     # 

I  tell  this  that  I  may  remember  all  I  can  of  that  very  queer 
transaction  in  which  the  said  American  was  implicated,  he  hav- 


474  LA  GRAN   QUIBIRA 

ing  just  swung  clear  of  the  penitentiary,  giving  up  all  the  wordly 
goods  he  possessed  to  satisfy  the  claim  for  the  sheep  he    had 

stolen. 

*     *     * 

Alone  as  I  was,  I  cannot  but  wonder  how  I  thus  escaped 
bodily  harm  at  the  hand  of  the  lawless  men  who  continually  in- 
vaded my  domain,  and  I  wonder  now  at  my  own  daring  in  con- 
fronting and  in  quarreling  with  each  and  every  party  of  ma- 
rauders. I  was  entirely  at  their  mercy  and  grew  more  and  more 
afraid  of  disappearing  from  the  earth  altogether,  and  of  noth- 
ing being  heard  from  me  ever  after  except  that  I  was  ' '  missing. ' ' 
Yet  I  never  failed  (upon  principle)  to  administer  a  sound  tongue- 
lashing  to  the  offenders. 

This  sort  of  courting  danger  seems  to  be  one  of  my  innate 
characteristics— I  cannot  help  it.  The  presence  of  danger  al- 
ways inspires  me  with  a  certain  spirit  of  antagonism;  I  want  to 
fight. 

The  true  secret  of  my  security  from  harm,  however,  I  be- 
lieve to  have  been  that  they  all  stood  somewhat  in  awe  of  the 
woman  who  dared  to  remain  upon  this  haunted  ground,  where 
not  one  man  in  a  million  would  have  willingly  been  left  entirely 
alone  for  a  single  night ;  and  as  I  remained  upon  the  ground  for 
months  in  solitude,  declaring  that  it  was  of  the  coyotes  alone  that 
I  was  afraid,  they  were  inspired  with  a  healthy  respect  for 


I  entertained  at  various  times  a  strange  medley  of  visitors 
of  every  degree  and  station. 

First  there  was  Willie  Williamson  who  drove  me  over  to 
the  ground  from  the  El  Ojo  a  Dios  rancho  and  remained  with  me 
until  noon  of  the  third  day,  whom  I  thought  I  heard  at  the  place 
whereon  we  camped  upon  the  night  of  the  nineteenth  of  April, 
(I  think — at  any  rate  it  was  upon  a  Saturday  night)  calling  out 
"Whoa!  Boy"  to  his  pony  and  searching  about  the  tent  for 
something,  who  did  not  reply  to  my  oft-repeated  hails,  but  whom 
I  never  saw  again,  although  he  had  promised  to  come  often  and 
see  that  I  had  what  water  I  required. 

Then  there  was  the  Mexican  who  lived  at  the  foot  of  the  hill, 
and  his  espoza  and  chiquitas,  Lorenzo  Sanchez  and  the  two  boys, 
Geraldo  and  Demetrio,  all  of  them  herders  of  my  Mexican  neigh- 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  475 

bor ;  and  at  odd  intervals  Jose  Labata  and  his  two  ichas  who  paid 
me  a  friendly  visit  about  the  first  week  in  March. 

Then  there  was  my  notable  guest,  Dick  the  Rover,  who  called 
himself  a  "prospector  for  curiosities;"  Gavino  Pedillo;  and  upon 
the  fifteenth  day  of  May  a  party  of  four  "water  prospectors" 
hailing  from  Puerto  de  Luna.  I  have  reason  to  remember  this 
party,  for  until  their  coming  I  think  that  in  my  absorbing  in- 
terest in  my  work  I  must  have  quite  forgotten  the  fact  that  I  was 
a  woman. 

But  before  these,  there  were  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Purcella,  Andrew 
and  the  kid,  who  visited  the  place  during  the  last  week  in  April. 

Then  too  there  was  a  party  of  three  from  Roswell  and  Tobog- 
gan; three  others,  who  hailed  from  the  coal  mines  of  Capitan 
and  always  the  ubiquitous  Dow  whom  I  had  engaged  upon  the 
nineteenth  of  May  to  carry  me  to  the  Rio  together  with  a  small 
portion  of  my  personal  belongings;  the  nine  herders  of  the  dis- 
tant ranchman  and  the  old  German  from  the  store. 

Then  there  were  some  men  from  Texas  en  route  for  Arizona 
by  the  way  of  Socorro  and  Magdalena  who  had  twenty  five  horses 
in  charge;  and  some  sheep  herders  from  the  Abo. 
*     *     # 

It  was  my  favorite  hour  for  prayer — that  hour  when  I 
seemed  able  to  best  approach  more  closely  to  my  God,  the  hour 
before  sunset.  I  had  lifted  my  eyes  to  the  glory  of  the  sun  only 
to  find  that  the  great  beams  of  the  loom  of  destiny  were  stretched 
directly  across  the  sun's  disc,  almost  entirely  hiding  it  from 
view.  I  had  prayed  and  prayed  again  that  my  work  might  end 
in  success,  and  had  made  a  solemn  vow  to  Almighty  God  whose 
aid  alone  I  would  accept  in  this  work,  to  use  that  wealth  should 
it  pass  through  my  hands,  for  the  benefit  of  all  mankind. 

I  was  confident  that  I  knew  from  the  movements  of  the  spirit 
throng,  just  where  the  great  church  treasure  was  hidden,  and 
from  what  precise  point  it  had  been  removed.  But  still  I  prayed : 
"Give  to  me  a  sign,  Oh,  God,  that  success  will  be  mine.  Force 
these  unwilling  devils  to  tell  me  the  things  I  wish  to  know." 

I  had  scarcely  finished  my  appeal  when  the  great  beam  lifted 
itself  from  before  the  face  of  the  sun  and  rested  itself  diagonally 
against  the  heavens,  but  not  between  me  and  the  sun. 

When  the  sun  went  down  I  retired,  as  was  my  custom,  to  my 
couch,  and  despite  the  cries  and  moans  and  dismal  groans  I  fell 
asleep. 


476  LA  GRAN  QUIBIBA 

It  was  not  yet  dark  when  I  was  awakened  by  a  voice  which 
said  distinctly:  "It  is  here." 

I  raised  myself,  as  was  my  habit,  to  challenge  this  new  ap- 
parition in  the  hope  that  after  a  time  I  would  arrive  at  the  truth, 
but  I  was  pushed  gently  but  firmly  back,  and  the  same  voice 
said  confidentially:  "Hush!  It  is  here."  What  could  I  do 
but  have  faith,  for  I  recognized  the  hoarse  voice  as  that  of  the 
blind  usher,  and  the  point  indicated  by  him  was  within  a  dozen 
feet  of  the  place  which  I  had  settled  upon  as  the  point  of  en- 
trance to  the  treasure  vaults,  and  above  which  we  had  found  the 
stone  cross.  I  was  wide  awake  nor  did  I  sleep  more  that  night 
for  wondering  and  listening. 

*  #     * 

Now  that  so  many  of  the  wandering  spirits  had  been  re- 
turned to  the  tombs,  other  sounds  and  voices  which  had  been 
smothered  and  drowned  by  them  became  more  distinct.  I  was 
startled  at  hearing  plainly  articulate,  the  voice  of  one  who  ap- 
proached the  entrance  to  this  same  passage,  crying  out  in  won- 
der and  consternation  " !  .......  I  Great  God!" 

I  knew  the  voice  and  sprang  out  of  bed  calling :  ' '  Tom  Led- 
ington !  Tom  Ledington,  as  sure  as  fate, ' '  but  there  was  no  re- 
sponse to  my  hail. 

*  *     * 

Then  and  at  all  times  after  this  I  heard  voices  of  many 
people  within  these  underground  vaults,  calling  without  ceasing 

upon  a  name  I  knew ! !  Sometimes  there  were  the 

voices  of  at  least  three  persons  and  I  believed  that  one  of  these 
was  the  voice  of  a  boy  or  (and  I  shuddered  at  the  thought)  that  of 
a  woman.  Most  of  the  time  I  could  not  distinguish  the  words  for 
their  terrible  wailing  and  from  the  fact  that  each  voice  was 
pitched  in  that  unnatural  key  of  a  hail  from  afar,  but  sometimes 
a  few  words  were  intelligible  to  me.  I  could  then  hear  the  men's 
voices  calling  ' '  Help  !  Help  !  Fire !  Fire ! "  as  if  that  dread  word 
which  always  implies  the  necessity  ifor  immediate  response, 
would  better  reach  that  outside  world  from  which  these  poor  un- 
fortunates appeared  to  have  been  suddenly  cut  off,  by  some 
dread  disaster  inflicted  upon  them  by  the  one  upon  whom  they 
would  begin  once  more  to  call ! ! 

I  called  and  called  again  to  these,  but  although  it  was  evi- 
dent they  knew  of  my  presence  there  it  seemed  to  me  they  heard 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  477 

my  cries  with  the  same  indistinctness  that  I  heard  theirs  and  gave 
me  but  few  intelligible  replies.  Thou  canst  imagine  my  horror. 
These  voices  had  nothing  of  the  supernatural  about  them  and  it 
was  only  as  time  went  on  that  I  realized  that  no  living  thing  could 
keep  up  this  incessant  cry  both  by  day  and  by  night,  for  weeks  at 
a  stretch  without  change  of  voice  and  without  rest  or  gaining  in 
huskiness;  for  at  the  first  so  natural  were  these  accents  I 
believed  it  was  the  living  who  were  imprisoned  there,  and,  al- 
though I  knew  it  was  an  impossibility  for  me  to  open  the  vaults 
with  the  means  at  my  command,  I  frantically  assured  them  I 
would  sacrifice  all  my  hopes  of  gain  to  aid  and  to  release  them. 
At  length  one  answered  to  my  oft-repeated  hails  of:  "Hello, 
who  art  thou,"  by  answering  clearly  "I  am  S — .  Let  me  out."  I 
was  amazed  at  this  reply.  The  name,  as  it  was  now  pronounced, 
was  an  unusual  one  and  was  that  of  a  man  whom  I  had  engaged 
to  work  for  and  to  accompany  us  to  La  Gran  Quibira  more  than 
two  years  prior  to  this  date.  The  brute  deserted  me  and  de- 
clared he  was  going  to  work  for  the  man  who  owned  the  place.  I 
had  said  to  him :  "  If  it  is  La  Grand  Quibira  to  which  thou  re- 
ferest,  remember  that  the  dying  old  man  there  has  the  only  claim 
to  this  ground  and  I  forbid  thee  at  thy  peril  to  visit  the  place 
without  him."  The  brute  laughed  and  this  was  the  last  time 
I  had  seen  or  heard  of  or  even  thought  of  him  until  his  voice  an- 
swered from  the  subterranean  vaults  of  the  blacksmith's  forge. 
*  *  * 

There  were  so  many  unaccountable  things  connected  with 
this  new  development  of  affairs  where  the  voices  of  the  dead  of 
today  as  it  were,  managed  at  length  to  make  themselves  heard, 
through  the  din  of  the  continued  repetition  of  events  long  past, 
and  I  was  amazed  to  hear  what  seemed  to  be  the  voice  of  a  new- 
comer calling  to  me  by  name,  but  I  could  not  induce  the  owner 
of  this  voice  to  answer  my  repeated  questions  as  to  his  name  and 
what  he  wanted. 

I  replied,  however,  each  time  to  my  own  name,  but  it  was  ap- 
parent to  me  that  this  person  could  not  hear  my  responses,  for 
he  kept  up  his  impatient  cry  and  once  (it  was,  I  remember,  upon 
a  Sunday  forenoon)  after  a  long-continued  hail,  he  said  angrily: 
"God  damn  her,"  in  unmistakable  English. 

Then  I  heard  the  hoarse  voice  of  the  usher  who  indeed 
seemed  to  be  the  medium  between  us,  say:  "She  hears  you," 
And  I  shouted  back:  "Yes,  I  hear,  but  I  do  not  understand. 


478  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

Tell  me  who  thou  art,  where  thou  art  and  how  it  is  possible  for 
me  to  assist  thee?  Art  thou  Dick  the  Rover,  or  art  thou  Willie 
Williamson?" 

I  asked  this  again  and  again  but  with  no  other  response  than 
the  repeated  hails  wherein  he  varied  his  incessant  repetition  of 
my  own  name,  with  the  assurance:  "Here  is  the  water." 

Then  another  voice  would  break  in  with  the  heartrending 
cries  of :  "I  am  starving!  Have  pity!  .  .  .  Here  I  am.  Give 
me  water.  Give  me  food. ' '  But  the  curse  called  down  on  my  un- 
offending head  was  pronounced  no  more. 

I  would  sit  above  this  place  for  hours  at  a  stretch  and  try 
to  arrive  at  some  correct  idea  of  the  situation,  but  they  always 
seemed  puzzled  when  I  asked  them  if  they  were  living  or  dead, 
or  if  they  realized  they  had  been  deliberately  murdered  by  ... 
I  said,  ' '  I  am  going  away.  I  will  return  with  help  if  possible 
and  I  pledge  thee  my  sacred  word  that  thy  murderer  shall 
be  brought  to  justice." 

I  tried  to  convince  myself  at  times  that  these  poor  wretches 
were  indeed  alive,  and  that  I  might  be  able  to  rescue  them.  At 
last  I  said :  ' '  The  people  who  were  driven  from  this  place  from 
two  to  three  centuries  ago  may  in  anticipation  of  the  expected 
wars  have  stored  these  vaults  with  supplies  sufficient  to  enable 
the  community  to  withstand  a  long  siege ;  and  if  these  poor  fel- 
lows found  these  supplies  and  the  water  as  well,  they  may  be 
living  still  after  a  year  or  even  two  of  imprisonment  here. ' ' 

And  it  is  this  thought  which  makes  my  present  life  of  inac- 
tion almost  unendurable  to  me.  I  hear  one  or  two  of  these  voices 
even  here  sometimes,  and  I  say,  "I  could  not  hear  them  were 
these  poor  wretches  alive."  But  then  again  I  repeat,  "Who 
shall  say  that  a  living  soul  may  not  in  the  extremity  of  agony 
both  of  body  and  of  spirit  make  its  cries  for  help  heard  even 
through  hundreds  of  miles  of  space  ?  The  mysteries  of  psychol- 
ogy admit  of  this. ' ' 

*  #    * 

There  are  people  here  whose  duty  it  is  to  assist  me  in  solving 
this  great  and  wonderful  mystery. 

*  *    * 

So  many  other  things  distracting  my  attention  at  the  time 
of  this  experience  may,  I  think,  have  weakened  my  own  powers. 
But  I  had  learned  to  distinguish  what  I  called  the  good  sounds 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  479 

from  the  bad  of  the  same  kind,  the  ring  of  the  true  metal 
from  the  false.  This  was  literally  true,  for  the  chains  of  the 
damned  and  those  of  some  of  the  bells  had  a  dull,  and  so  to 
speak,  dead  sound,  while  others  possessed  the  true  metallic  ring. 

*  *     * 

I  was  awakened  suddenly,  one  night  after  I  had  been  soothed 
to  sleep  by  those  unseen  mesmeric  hands,  to  whose  will  I  had 
learned  to  submit  myself  as  a  necessity,  feeling  that  this  was 
but  a  friendly  warning  that  something  was  about  to  occur  which 
I  was  forbidden,  under  some  especially  severe  penalty,  to  see,  by 
the  rattling  of  those  lifeless  chains  and  the  seeming  interchange 
of  lifeless  money,  and  the  sound  of  a  voice  of  someone  apparently 
upon  the  surface  of  the  earth  saying  in  a  dissatisfied  tone,  "an- 
gustura,"  and  a  short  time  later,  an  addition  seeming  in  the 
meantime  to  have  been  made  to  the  amount  of  lifeless  coin,  which 
had  exchanged  hands,  "  anC/ustura," 

*  #     # 

I  heard  the  slow  and  heavy  step  of  a  man  passing  at  the 
dead  of  night  in  the  rear  of  my  tent,  and  no  one  responded  to  my 
call. 

*  *     * 

And  once,  three  horsemen  passed,  whom  I  did  not  see  and 
who  paid  not  the  slightest  attention  to  my  address  which  I  am 
bound  to  confess  was  not  altogether  civil.  I  did  not  like  to  be 
frightened  out  of  my  sleep  by  unwelcome  intruders  upon  my 
ground  and  expressed  my  objections  to  this  very  bluntly. 


I  noted,  too,  with  great  alarm  that  during  all  this  time  (from 
Easter  Sunday  until  after  the  sixth  of  June)  neither  air  nor 
ground  gave  back  an  echo,  and  that  sound  traveled  not  at  all. 
When,  however,  the  vaults  semed  to  have  been  emptied  of  the 
embodied  souls,  which  had  been  called  up  to  take  part  in  this 
great  drama,  and  who  were  permitted  after  their  evidence  had  as 
it  seemed  been  taken  at  the  forge  to  walk  the  earth  for  a  time 
or  to  inhabit  some  other  bodies  (as  was,  I  cannot  but  believe  the 
case  of  the  praying  Samuel  or  Miss  Malapert,  for  my  saucy  little 
bird  was  never  heard  before  their  loosing  or  after  their  housing) 
there  was  always  the  voice  of  the  usher  and  that  of  a  woman  who 
apparently  swept  and  garnished  the  tombs  for  the  new  occupants, 


480  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

and  many  times  the  voices  came  from  empty  rooms  from  whose 
depths  they  resounded. 

*  *    * 

The  signals  of  the  watchers  varied.  And  I  grew  so  well  ac- 
customed to  the  sounds  that  whether  these  signals  were  made  by 
the  striking  as  upon  an  anvil,  the  'click'  as  of  an  electric  wire, 
or  the  striking  as  of  a  silver-belled  clock,  or  the  unusual  cry 
of  some  unknown  bird,  or  the  successive  calls  of  some  strange 
beast,  I  would  say:  "'What  begins  now  will  go  on  for  such  and 
such  a  number  of  days,"  as  the  sounds  indicated.  That  I  never 
failed  in  my  calculations  was  proof  of  itself  that  I  was  correct  in 
this  surmise.  And  I  was  still  further  convinced  that  I  was  not 
meant  to  see  or  to  hear  much  of  what  was  passing  around  and 
above  and  beneath  me,  for  these  sounds  were  immediately  fol- 
lowed by  that  strangely  tangible  and  yet  intangible  laying  on  of 
hands  which  quieted  me  into  submissive  slumber,  and  I  could 
only  speculate  upon  the  possible  sights  and  sounds  I  thus 

missed. 

*  *    * 

I  was  uneasy,  too,  upon  other  accounts.  It  was,  as  I  have  said, 
during  the  last  week  in  April  that  the  Purcella  family  visited  me, 
and  the  old  lady  told  me  of  an  atrocious  murder  which  had  been 
committed  at  Manzano.  A  boy  of  eleven  years  had  been  foully 
murdered  and  his  body  mutilated  almost  beyond  recognition,  and 
concealed  in  the  crevice  of  the  rocks  and  covered  over  with  huge 
boulders.  It  was  at  this  time  that  I  began  to  hear  the  great  bell 
ring  again.  I  remember  that  it  rang  all  of  the  time  the  Purcella 
family  were  upon  the  ground,  and  at  intervals  thereafter,  until 
about  three  weeks  before  I  left  the  place.  Sometimes  it  tolled 
and  sometimes  it  rang  merrily.  This  family  was  to  come  through 
the  place  a  month  later  upon  their  way  to  Arizona,  but  I  never 
saw  or  heard  from  them  again. 

*  *     * 

Many  things  happened,  so  many  and  so  unaccountable,  that 
I  cannot  remember  the  half.  One  morning  I  walked  over  to  the 
place  where  Dick  the  Rover  had  camped,  hoping  to  find  some 
wood,  and  as  I  stooped  to  pick  up  what  I  there  found  I  heard  a 
sound  like  the  turning  over  of  a  heavy  body  directly  beneath  my 
feet,  and  an  impatient  voice  said:  "Oh  dear!"  Thinking  that 
I  might  have  been  deceived  in  the  exact  location  of  the  sound  I 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  481 

thoroughly  examined  the  ground  about  within  hearing  distance 
and  called  again  and  again.  But  no  one  answered  me,  and  there 
was  no  sign  of  any  one  about.  I  have  no  reason  other  than  those 
which  I  have  related  for  thinking  that  any  thing  had  happened 
to  the  dime  novel  hero,  for  the  letters  which  I  entrusted  to  his 
care,  or  at  least  one  of  them,  was  posted. 


The  severity  of  the  weather  gives  no  clue  to  the  precise  date 
of  these  occurrences,  for  although  I  had  arrived  at  La  Gran 
Quibira  late  in  February,  the  winter  had  only  come  with  my 
coming  and  stayed  far  into  the  month  of  May.  I  remember  that 
the  cold  had  driven  me  to  bed  before  the  sun  had  set,  where  my 
waking  dreams  had  at  length  merged  into  sleeping  ones  when 
the  reigning  night  awoke  me  to  a  consciousness  of  its 
own  surpassing  loveliness.  I  arose  at  once  and  went  out  to  give 
it  greeting.  The  whole  earth  appeared  to  have  been  awakened  by 
the  electric  touch  of  the  moon,  the  presiding  deity  of  this  perfect 
night,  and  was  illumined  and  glorified  by  the  pure  white  radiance 
of  its  light.  La  Gran  Quibira  hill  had  donned  a  fresh  night-robe 
of  fleecy  snow  which  glimmered  and  glistened  in  the  moonlight, 
and  lay  before  me  the  brightest  jewel  in  earth's  coronet,  this 
dearest  spot  of  earth  to  me.  The  air  was  cold  and  crisp  with 
frost.  I  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  all  the  unwelcome  sounds  around, 
above  and  beneath  me  and  fell  into  pleasing  reverie.  The  be- 
numbing sting  of  the  cold  aroused  me  from  this  and  drove  me 
again  to  cover.  When  warm,  I  arose  in  spite  of  restraining  hands, 
put  on  an  extra  petticoat  or  two,  encased  my  feet  in  a  pair  of 
thick  moccasins  made  of  gunny-sacks,  wrapped  my  bed-blanket 
about  me,  tied  my  well-worn  bourneous  over  my  head,  fastened 
one  end  of  my  leading  string  to  the  standard  of  my  tent,  and 
would  have  started  upon  a  night  visit  to  my  beloved  ruins,  but 
that  the  invisible  hands  laid  forcible  hold  upon  me  and  held  me 
captive.  "I  will  go!  I  will — I  will!"  I  cried,  struggling  to 
free  myself.  ' '  I  am  not  afraid  of  thee.  I  am  afraid  of  neither 
man,  beast,  nor  devil.  I  am  afraid  of  nothing  material  or  im- 
material, I  am  afraid  of  nothing!" 

"Battle"  from  the  snake,  "Hiss-s-s-s"  from  the  singing 
spider.  ' '  Ugh ! ! "  I  chocked  back  the  lie  with  that  half  shriek  for 
I  was  most  awfully  afraid  of  setting  foot  upon  either,  but  I 

31 


482  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

still  contend  that  these  are  the  only  things  I  do  not  set  my  foot 
apon  with  deliberate  intent. 

I  taunted  my  unseen  tormentors  with  the  fact  that  it  required 
the  efforts  of  all  creation,  material  and  spiritual,  the  denizens  of 
earth,  heaven  and  hades,  of  sea  and  air  and  ground  combined  to 
restrain  the  legitimate  curiosity  of  one  helpless  woman.  There 
was  no  answer  except  that  given  by  an  added  pressure  of  the 
hands.  Then  I  quoted  scripture  to  them.  I  said,  "  go  to  ....!"  fill- 
ing out  the  blank  left  by  the  timid  translator,  and  repeated  my 
taunts.  There  was  now  no  twitter  of  laughter  from  my  bird 
watchers,  and  I  awoke  to  the  terrifying  consciousness  that  they 
had  either  deserted  me  or  were  intimidated  into  silence  by  those 
virulent  reptiles.  I  tried  to  forget  their  presence  by  hearkening 
once  more  to  the  unceasing  cries  about  me,  which  were  less  un- 
welcome. As  the  voices  from  beneath  the  ground  called: 

" ! ! . . !"    I  said,  "It  is  true  that  the  blood  of 

the  murdered  Abel  cried  out  from  the  ground  upon  which  it  was 
spilt  until  the  sound  reached  the  ear  of  his  God.  But  the  name 
upon  which  it  called  was  not  * '  Jehovah, ' '  it  was  not  ' '  Adonai ! ' ' 

it    was    "Cain!    Cain!    Cain! ,! ! !"  until 

death  brought  the  murderer  to  his  victim  that  together  the  ac- 
cuser and  the  accused  might  present  themselves  at  the  trial  set 
for  such  time  in  the  court  of  the  Supreme  Judge.  And  so  these 
voices  must  cry  and  cry  until  death  brings  their  murderer  to 
join  them  that  together  they  may  present  themselves  before  the 
self-same  Judge.  I  wonder  what  would  have  been  the  result 
had  Cain  suffered  the  capital  punishment  the  coward  so  dreaded 
and  have  been  cut  off  prematurely  by  the  hand  of  man.  The 
penalty  affixed  for  blood-guiltiness  is  exile  from  paradise,  what 
further,  who  shall  say.  Blood!  how  many  times  had  La  Gran 
Quibira  hill  been  steep  in  human  gore  none  can  tell,  for  who 
is  able  to  number  the  countless  voices  who  call  without  ceasing, 

the  names  of  their  murderers? Blood!  the  ground  is  filled 

with  it,  the  air  tainted  with  it,  the  heavens— why  the  heavens 
are  dyed  in  it.  Has  the  moon  been  turned  to  blood  that  its 
pure  white  light  is  splotched  with  red  which  brightens  into  a 
vivid  scarlet,  that  in  turn  deepens  and  darkens  into  the  hue  of 
blood  which,  spreading,  envelopes  the  whole  earth? 

I  would  have  gone  out  to  meet  the  horrible  thing  as  I  had 
done  to  greet  the  night  in  its  beauty,  but  that  I  was  again  held 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  483 

fast  and  bidden  not  to  stir  by  rattle  and  hiss  and  by  the  ominous 
silence  whose  reign  was  broken  by  sounds  to  the  east  which 
were  those  as  of  the  advance  of  a  great  army  whose  heavy  tread 
shook  the  ground,  while  the  voices  of  its  officers  rang  out  in  tones 
of  sharp  command.  "  ...  .El  noche  du  sang  re!"  where  was  I  held 
captive  within  hearing  while  Cortez  and  his  army  cut  their  way 
through  the  enemy's  ranks,  to  freedom ? 

Pshaw !  this  is  not  the  light  nor  the  night  of  blood.  There 
is  no  phantom  parade.  That  is  Greek  fire  and  some  night  tourna- 
ment is  being  held  upon  the  eastern  end  of  my  land  by  some 

organization  which  has  a  love  for  the  romantic That  is 

the  stealthy  footstep  of  some  living  guard  set  over  me  to  prevent 
my  prying  into  their  secrets.  After  the  drill  there  were  the  sounds 
as  of  athletic  games  and  contests,  then  those  of  the  chase  with 
the  shouts  of  men  and  boys  or  women  mingling  with  the  baying 
of  hounds  and,  yes,  those  were  the  howls  of  wolves,  and  the 
screams  of  night  birds.  Then  came  the  sound  of  the  flying 
feet  of  the  quarry  loosed,  and  ah !  this  is  a  human  being  who  flies 
for  his  life  before  the  unleashed  hounds  and  the  howling  wolves. 
I  am  about  to  utter  a  shriek  when  a  hand  d<raws  the  blanket  over 
my  mouth  and  holds  it  there,  and  I  can  only  whisper  in  answer 
to  that  death  cry,  "Blood,  yet  more  blood  to  call  aloud  for  ven- 
geance!" Then  the  light  faded  into  blackness,  for  the  moon  had 
hid  her  face  as  well  as  I,  the  sounds  subsided  into  silence,  both 
friend  and  foe  were  gone  (for  even  here  I  had  been  made  to  un- 
derstand that  I  was  watched  and  guarded  by  both.)  It  was  a 
trivial  thing  but  it  told  me  this  much.  A  heavy  foot  had  dis- 
lodged a  boulder  near  the  entrance  to  my  tent,  a  voice  chided  in 
an  angry  undertone,  and  was  answered  by  a  muttered  apology. 
The  noise  said  to  me, ' '  A  friend  is  near. ' '  The  angry  voice  told 
me;  "I  am  thy  enemy.  Fear  me  for  I  mean  to  destroy  thee," 
while  the  other  said  as  plainly, ' '  Trust  me,  I  will  defend  thee. ' '  So 
far  as  I  was  concerned  the  red  light  was  to  me  a  danger  sig- 
nal, and  as  thou  seest  I  had  heeded  its  warning,  but  now  I  arose 
without  hindrance  or  protest  and  went  out  to  meet  the  new- 
born day  and  to  gossip  with  my  bird  friends  who  were  beginning 
to  stir  and  to  twitter  among  the  boughs  of  the  old  cedar  trees,  but 
never  a  word  did  I  repeat  of  the  scenes  that  had  spoiled  that  per- 
fect night  that  was  now  dead,  drowned  in  the  blood  of  its  own 
happenings. 


484  LA  GRAN  QU1BIEA 

I  beheld  upon  one  occasion  what  appeared  to  be  ladders 
reaching  from  the  earth  to  the  heavens,  upon  which  white-robed 
figures  were  climbing  toward  the  skies,  or  letting  themselves 
down  to  earth  by  turns. 

*  *    * 

I  noted  that  after  a  time  all  the  different  scenes  lasted  until 
the  third  day  before  they  made  way  for  others. 

*  *     * 

And  after  this,  I  noted  that  one  of  these  ladders  had  broken 
loose  from  its  upper  fastenings,  and  was  suspended  as  if  about  to 
fall  directly  over  the  blacksmith's  forge  and  consequently  di- 
rectly over  my  tent 

This  was  never  righted  and  almost  the  last  thing  I  noticed 
before  I  left,  was  this  falling  ladder. 

*  *     * 

Then  in  the  place  of  these  ladders,  there  appeared  giant 
palm  trees  whose  branches  seemed  to  reach  to  the  skies.  Then 
in  between  these  the  ladders  were  lowered  again  and  instead  of 
one  row  there  were  many.  These  were  distant  at  first,  but  row 
after  row  was  lowered  and  I  awoke  suddenly  to  the  fact  that 
these  hemmed  in  not  only  the  forge  but  my  own  camp  as  well. 

*  *     * 

Guards  were  stationed  at  a  distance  at  first,  but  their  num- 
bers were  doubled  and  redoubled  until  I  could  have  touched 
with  my  outstretched  hand  those  forming  the  innermost  circle. 
I  could  best  outline  this  prison-house  of  mine  of  immense  bars, 

just  before  sunset. 

*  *     # 

Within  the  guard  I  beheld  procession  after  procession,  some- 
times of  the  priests.  When  this  went  on  I  would  say:  "This  is 

some  feast  day." 

*  *    * 

Then  there  would  be  " children's  day",  when  the  almost 

endless  processions  would  be  made  up  entirely  of  children. 

*  *     * 

Then  there  were  the  funeral  processions,  with  their  cata- 
falques and  somber  trains. 

*  *     * 

But  eager  as  I  was  to  see  more  clearly  and  solve  intelligently 
all  of  these  mysteries,  my  heart  sank  within  me  as  I  noted  that 
the  magic  circle  in  which  they  marched,  sometimes  to  the  music 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  485 

of  instruments  or  that  of  the  voices,  and  sometimes  in  oppressive 
silence,  included  my  domain  as  well  as  the  forge  within  its  pre- 
cincts. 

*  *     * 

As  time  went  on  these  precincts  narrowed  and  narrowed; 
the  processions  marched  in  single  file  instead  of  solid  or  grouped 
phalanx  with  many  abreast.  The  forms  were  those  both  of 
children  and  of  adults  of  our  average  stature  and  also  those  of 
giant  proportions.  Some  were  robed  in  white,  some  in  black, 
some  in  what  seemed  to  be  of  shining  gold,  and  some  enveloped 
in  flames  which  crackled  and  roared  as  they  marched,  swiftly  or 
with  slow  and  solemn  step,  round  and  round  the  boundary  line. 
I  tried  to  convince  myself  that  all  this  was  imaginary  and  that 
the  shifting  figures  were  made  by  the  involuntary  movement  of 
my  own  organs  of  sight,  so  I  tested  the  matter  thoroughly  by 
looking  backward  along  the  line  and  fixing  the  peculiarities  of 
stature,  color,  dress  and  movement  (I  was  never  able  to  dis- 
tinguish features)  then  cast  my  eyes  quickly  forward  and  when 
the  same  forms  appeared  in  their  regular  order  I  knew  I  had  not 

deceived  myself. 

*  *     * 

For  many  days  I  watched  with  the  greatest  interest  what  I 
called  "the  purification  by  fire"  of  those  who  seemed  to  carry 
their  own  little  hell  about  with  them.  All  was  provokingly  in- 
distinct, but  by  continual  watching  I  was  able  to  note  the  pleas- 
ing fact  that  the  flames  which  surrounded  them  became  fainter 
and  fainter  in  hue  until  their  robes  faded  into  grey  or  blue,  then 
into  white  and  yet  more  white.  And  I  strained  every  nerve  in 
the  effort  to  hear  and  to  see  distinctly  the  distinguishing  features 
of  this  endless  and  ever  changing  throng.  I  called  to  them,  I 
sang  to  them :  ' '  Come,  black  spirits  and  white ;  Come,  blue  spirits 
and  grey,  and  scarlet  and  brown  and  golden  as  well, ' '  etc.  But  in 
vain,  for,  except  that  all  seemed  to  have  been  brought  there  for 
the  sole  purpose  of  identifying  me  as  some  important  factor  of 
some  great  event— whether  past  or  future  or  both  I  could  only 
surmise,  I  could  understand  nothing.  I  thought,  and  still  think, 
that  it  was  most  unfair  they  could  thus  identify  me  while 
I  could  not  identify  a  single  individual  among  them  all,  except 


486  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

as  it  were,  by  classes,  my  spiritual  vision  being  as  I  discovered 

upon  a  par  with  my  physical  vision,  which  is  most  imperfect. 

*  #     # 

Many  things  startled  me,  such  as  the  fact  that  among  those 
flame-encased  forms  there  were  those  of  many  little  children 
some  led  by  and  some  following  their  elders.  Oddly  enough  as 
if  in  answer  to  my  doubts,  some  passage  in  the  Bible  would 
come  to  my  memory  and  here  the  only  explanation  which  was 
offered  me,  was :  ' '  The  sins  of  the  parents  shall  be  visited  upon 

their  children  even  to  the  third  and  fourth  generations. ' ' 

*  #     * 

What  does  this  all  mean? 

Why  was  I  permitted  to  know  these  happenings,  but  to  see, 
to  hear,  to  understand  them  so  imperfectly? 

If  indeed  I  am  the  chosen  instrument  to  unravel  this  great 
mystery  or  to  rescue  those  imprisoned  souls  who  call  upon  me  so 
incessantly  and  whose  voices  can  only  be  silenced  by  some  act 
of  mine,  why  am  I  not  given  the  assistance  I  require  in  the 
work  allotted  to  me  to  do? 

Or  has  it  all  been  a  mistake,  and  am  I  not  the  one  whom 
they  believe  me  to  be? 

Have  I  deceived  both  God  and  man,  and  the  whole  of  the 
spirit  world? 

Was  it  meant  to  seize  me  and  to  forcibly  compel  me  to  join 
this  throng  of  the  unjudged  dead  ? 

That  I  have  been  falsely  accused  of  some  dreadful  crime 
against  them,  of  which,  thank  God  I  have  been  already  judged 

and  acquitted? 

*  *     * 

I  do  not  know  with  certainty,  but  I  will  never  give  up  the 
riddle  I  have  pledged  myself  to  them  all  to  solve.  I  am  certain 
that  I  should  never  find  rest  or  peace  either  here  or  hereafter  did 

I  abandon  my  mission. 

*  *     * 

In  regard  to  one  thing  my  former  doubts  have  been  dis- 
pelled by  this  ceaseless  watching  and  wondering.  The  life  in 
the  tombs,  the  life  beyond  the  grave  is  a  dread  reality.  And  the 
fact  that  some  at  least,  of  the  earth-born  live  and  live  and  live 
again  here  upon  the  earth  in  other  and  newer  phases  of  exist- 
ence, I  have  established. 

I  am  one  of  these. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  487 

For  am  I  not  "she?"  am  I  not  that  "undying  one,  Le 
Ileithe  ? ' '  Am  I  not ' '  Diavanna  ? "  "  Hytanna, ' '  and  ' '  Marah, ' ' 
"Marie,"  "  Marahquirita, "  I,  "the  woman?" 

Then  what,  Oh,  God,  is  Thy  will  with  me?  What  is  it  that 
I  am  required  to  do,  that  I  may  say  of  my  work  upon  the  earth : 
"It  is  finished?" 

The  answer  has  come  to  me.  But  ah,  have  I  the  strength 
both  moral  and  physical  which  it  will  require  to  perform  the 
appointed  task? 


488  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

CANTO  THE  FIFTH. 
"SWEET  BUNCH  OF  DAISIES." 

It  was  bitterly  cold.  The  snow  lay  heavy  upon  the  ground 
and  trees  without,  and  was  fast  covering  the  tent  which  had  been 
newly  swept. 

The  woman  had  offered  up  her  evening  prayer  and  retreated 
to  shelter  and  to  the  warmth  of  her  poor  bed,  although  the  sun 
had  scarcely  set. 

She  lay  there  thinking  of  the  dream  she  had  dreamed  the 
night  before,  in  which  she  had  seen  the  poor  old  grandma  of 
hospital  memory  carried  out  through  its  great  doors,  sitting  bolt 
upright  in  a  huge  arm  chair,  robed  for  burial,  but  in  a  garb  of 
dingy  brown  shot  with  vivid  yellow.  There  was  a  mute  appeal 
in  the  old  lady's  eyes,  fixed  as  they  seemed  to  be  in  death, 
which  smote  upon  the  woman 's  intelligence,  and  she  cried  aloud : 

"Grandma  is  not  dead;  oh,  do  not  bury  the  poor  old  soul 
alive!"  Her  appeal  was  unheeded  by  the  four  men  who  bore  the 
chair,  and  who  rudely  brushed  against  the  woman  as  they  passed 
out  through  the  doorway  and  down  the  steps  to  the  waiting  am- 
bulance at  their  foot;  while  beside  the  chair,  her  right  hand 
clasping  the  rigid  one  of  Grandma,  her  habit  fashioned  from 
the  same  loathsome  fabric  of  brown  and  yellow,  her  own  eyes 
holding  the  same  look  of  terror  and  appeal,  walked  the  woman's 
own  little  "nursie,"  sister  Lydia,  best-beloved  by  her  of  all  "my 
little  sisters,"  as  the  woman  called  them. 

The  woman  moved  uneasily  upon  her  rude  couch,  then 
clasped  her  hands  above  her  head  and  said:  "Dear  little  sister 
Lydia,"  and  smiled  at  the  memory  of  their  parting. 

"Kiss  me  good-bye,  Sister  Lydia,"  the  woman  had  said 
upon  her  last  visit  to  the  hospital. 

"No,"  flatly  refused  sister  Lydia.  "I  never  have  kissed 
any  one  in  all  my  life  that  I  remember.  I  do  not  like  kisses.  I 
do  not  believe  in  kissing.  Faugh  I" 

The  woman  had  insisted,  "But  sister,  dear  little  nursie,  I 
am  going  away  soon,  so  thou  and  I  may  never  meet  again  in  this 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  489 

life.  Wilt  not  kiss  me  good-by?"  and  sister  Lydia's  heart  re- 
lented at  this  appeal  and  she  put  up  her  lips  as  a  little  child  might 
have  done  and  gave  the  woman  a  kiss  as  sweet  and  innocent  as  a 
maiden's  first  love-kiss,  as  she  said  "good-by."  The  memory 
of  this  scene  was  so  strong  upon  the  woman  that  she  felt  again 
the  tender  pressure  of  those  soft  lips  and  again  heard  distinctly 
spoken  the  repetition  of  the  word,  "Good-by."  The  woman's 
tears  fell  fast  as  she  said:  "Dear  sister  Lydia  is  dead.  Sister 
Lydia  is  dead.  But  why,  oh  why  was  she  taken  and  so  worthless 
a  creature  as  I  left?" 

The  woman  sat  bolt  upright  upon  her  couch  and  glanced 
around.  The  day  was  upon  its  last  legs  now  and  the  blackness 
of  night  was  enshrouding  the  earth.  Again  her  thoughts'  went 
back  to  her  own  sojourn  at  the  hospital.  Early  on  Christmas 
Eve  the  great  hall  had  been  thrown  open  and  all  the  patients 
had  been  brought  to  view  the  grand  Christmas  tree,  resplendent 
in  the  light  of  its  myriads  of  waxen  tapers,  bowed  down  with 
its  weight  of  gifts  for  all.  The  scene  was  what  all  scenes  had 
become  to  her  now,  one  in  which  she  played  only  the  part  of 
a  looker-on.  Grandma  was  there  in  a  wheel  chair,  every  one 
was  there.  Many  had  been  brought  in  in  the  little  wagons  used 
to  transfer  from  the  operating  room  to  the  elevators  and  to  their 
own  chambers,  those  who  were  unconscious  of  the  serious  opera- 
tion they  had  undergone.  The  woman  herself  had  tottered  in, 
leaning  upon  sister  Lydia's  arm.  She  had  come  under  protest, 
for  to  her  this — the  Christmas  time  held  many  sorrowful  mem- 
ories and  but  for  marring  the  pleasure  of  the  sisters  and  their 
patient- guests,  she  would  have  kept  her  chamber.  Even  she 
could  see  that  the  Christmas  tree  must  be  very  beautiful,  but  she 
was  impressed  more  vividly  than  ever,  here  in  the  midst  of  the 
crowd,  with  that  growing  sense  of  having  been  set  apart  for 
some  special  purpose  which  she  must  work  out  alone. 

The  priest  was  there  in  his  most  genial  mood,  and  conversed 
cheerily  with  all  except  hersfelf.  Perhaps  her  face,  cold  and 
filled  with  proud  disdain,  repelled  him ;  at  any  rate,  except  for 
a  curt  "good  evening,"  he  did  not  address  her,  but  it  irritated 
her  to  feel  his  eyes  always  upon  her,  no  matter  with  whom  he 
conversed.  The  one  pleasure  of  the  evening  was  the  witnessing 
of  Grandma's  delight  in  the  seene.  The  old  lady  had  passed 
her  eighty-seventh  birthday,  yet  never  before  had  she  seen  a  real 


490 


LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 


Christmas  tree.  The  tree  was  such  a  marvel  to  her.  She  was  in 
raptures  over  the  antics  of  the  clown  who  acted  as  Santa  Glaus, 
and  when  he  presented  her  with  the  gift  of  a  doll  in  regimentals 
which  had  fallen  to  her  lot  from  the  wonderful  tree,  with  a  not 
over-fastidious  joke  about  "Grandma's  baby,"  her  delight 
knew  no  bounds.  The  comic  songs  and  dances  were  all  brimful 
of  fun  for  Grandma,  and  when,  after  the  refreshments  had  been 
passed  around— the  Christmas  treat  of  wine  and  cake  being  a 
notable  feature  of  the  evening — and  one  of  the  sisters  had  acted 
the  part  of  one  drunken  with  the  Christmas  wine,  Grandma 
laughed  until  she  cried  and  was  taken  to  bed,  declaring  that  she 
could  stand  no  more.  The  woman  gladly  availed  herself  of  the 
opportunity  thus  offered,  and  withdrew  to  her  own  room  with 
a  sadder  heart  than  she  had  known  for  many  a  day,  yet  still 
smiling  with  pleasure  at  the  pleasure  that  had  been  offered  to 
Grandma  and  the  others  who  had  not  lost  the  capability  of  en- 
joying the  scene. 

The  woman  smiled  now  at  the  recollection  of  it  all.  "Poor 
old  Grand  ma,"  she  said,  "that  was  thy  last  as  well  as  thy  first 
Christmas  tree.  I  am  glad  that  thou  didst  enjoy  it  so  much." 
The  woman  smiled  a  little  at  the  memory  of  that  scene  upon  the 
balcony  as  the  sun  rose  upon  a  new  century. 

Of  course  she  had  long  ago  come  to  her  senses  and  knew  that 
the  part  taken  in  it  by  the  sisterhood  had  been  but  the  hallucina- 
tion of  a  fevered  brain  weakened  by  her  illness,  although  it  was 
so  real  at  the  time  as  to  induce  her  hurried  flight  from  the  place. 

Now  she  followed  in  imagination  in  the  wake  of  the  priest 
and'  the  sisters  to  the  door  of  the  little  chapel  of  the  sisterhood, 
exquisite  in  its  equipments,  its  cleanliness,  and  its  brilliant 
lights.  The  woman  stood  alone  in  the  doorway,  for  all  were 
seated  and  the  priest  had  already  commenced  the  evening  service. 
His  voice  was  fraught  with  the  same  rich  melody  the  woman  so 
well  remembered.  The  sound  of  it  soothed  her  into  calm  as  was 
its  wont  and  the  woman  crept  silently  to  a  seat  beyond  the  hospi- 
tal physician.  Just  as  the  woman  seated  herself,  a  messenger  en- 
tered hurriedly  and  whispered  something  in  the  ear  of  the  doctor, 
who  sprang  up  and  hurried  from  the  chapel ;  at  the  same  moment 
a  great  ball  of  fire  rose  between  her  and  the  altar,  which  grew 
in  size  until  it  hid  the  form  of  the  priest  from  view. 

All  this  as  in  a  flash— then  darkness,  and  silence  were  over 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  491 

all,  and  the  woman  was  once  more  sitting  upright  upon  her 
couch,  wondering  sadly  what  it  all  meant.  There  could  be  but 
one  solution  to  the  mystery,  she  feared,  and  she  said:  "The 
priest,  too,  is  dead." 

"Sweet  bunch  of  Daisies — "  the  woman  was  startled  from 
her  thought  of  sister  Lydia,  the  priest  and  the  rest.  The  sound 
was  so  distinct  and  near,  that  she  recognized  the  voice  of  little 
Huldah,  who  led  the  practice  as  was  her  wont,  and  heard  the 
voice  of  the  teacher-accompanist. 

Even  in  her  surprise  the  woman  noted  a  difference  between 
this  and  the  scenes  just  passed,  in  which  she,  sister  Lydia  and 
the  priest  had  taken  part.  The  first  was  like  a  dream  and  the 
memory  of  a  dream,  the  second  was  a  vision,  but  this  was  a 
reality.  Just  as  they  had  practiced  the  popular  song  upon  the 
evening  before  her  flight,  the  children  of  her  landlady  were 
practicing  it  now.  They  were  in  their  own  home;  the  woman  sat 
upon  her  humble  couch— there  were  nearly  a  thousand  miles 
between.  That  space  had  somehow  become  a  vacuum,  and  while 
the  children  sang  in  their  own  home,  the  woman  in  her  lonely 
tent  upon  the  hill  top  at  La  Gran  Quibira  heard  them  distinctly, 
and  wondered  and  wondered,  yet  could  not  solve  the  mystery. 
Death  seemed  to  have  claimed  all  as  his  very  own;  so  she  said, 
at  length,  "Little  Huldah  is  dead!" 

Then  the  woman  slept,  and  in  her  sleep  she  beheld  one  of 
the  apparitions  of  her  waking  visions  at  her  side — one  who  had 
come  to  bid  her  a  last  farewell.  It  was  not  little  Huldah,  it  was 
not  Grandma,  it  was  not  sister  Lydia — it  was  the  priest  who 
bent  over  her,  as  she  lay  asleep,  and  kissed  her  lips  saying 
tremulously,  "good-by,  good-by."  And  the  woman  said  sor- 
rowfully, "The  priest  is  dead." 

The  woman  drew  the  rosary  the  priest  had  given  her  from 
its  resting  place  upon  her  bosom,  and  told  the  beads  after  a 
new  fashion  (she  had  quite  forgotten  the  old  formula).  She 
said  over  and  over  again,  counting  the  beads  as  she  went: 
"Grandma  is  dead,  sister  Lydia  is  dead,  little  Huldah  is  dead. 
The  priest  is  dead.  I  am  left  alone.  If  to  die  in  this  wilderness, 
to  what  end?  If  to  live,  for  what  purpose?" 

There  was  no  answer  to  her  questions. 

The  woman  knew  that  death  stalked  nightly  'round     her 


492  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

lonely  tent,  keeping  incessant  watch  and  guard  over  her,  and 
now  in  her  impatience  to  solve  her  doubts  she  arose  and  went 
forth  into  the  blackness  of  the  night  to  meet  him.  Death, 
daunted  by  the  woman's  bravery,  fled  at  her  approach;  and 
hearing  his  footsteps  in  hurried  flight,  the  woman  laughed  that 
satirical  laugh  of  hers  which  was  so  irritating  to  all  who  drew  it 
forth,  and  turning  she  groped  her  way  back  to  her  tent  and 
threw  herself  once  more  upon  her  couch  saying,  "I  must  live, 
and  live,  and  live  forever,  but  for  what  purpose?  Why,  0  God, 
must  the  knowledge  of  the  true  mission  to  the  fulfillment  of 
which  Thou  hast  dedicated  me  be  hidden  from  me,  and  I  doomed 
to  grope  blindly  after  it,  in  utter  darkness,  blind  in  body,  blind 
in  spirit,  blind,  blind,  blind!" 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  493 


CANTO  THE  SIXTH. 


TOUCH  NOT,  TASTE  NOT,  HANDLE  NOT. 

She  had  prayed  time  after  time,  this  woman,  that  she  might 
behold,  were  it  but  in  a  vision  or  a  dream  ,the  hidden  treasure 
which  had  as  it  were  become  the  theme  of  her  life.  And  now  her 
prayer  was  answered. 

At  midnight  she  was  awakened  by  a  voice  which  spoke  her 
name  in  a  commanding  tone,  and  she  had  opened  her  eyes,  yet 
heavy  with  slumber,  to  behold  by  the  side  of  her  couch  a  figure 
like  unto  those  she  had  beheld  at  the  scene  of  the  ascen- 
sion,- and  who  had  never  visited  her  waking  or  sleeping  since  that 
event,  although  she  had  conjured  them  to  do  so  times  without 
number. 

The  form  was  unusually  tall,  winged  and  clad  in  that  same 
tunic-like  garment  which  was  familiar  to  her  memory,  and  she 
noted  first  of  all  with  a  sense  of  disappointment  that  this  was 
not  the  form  of  a  woman  a/a  she  had  hoped,  but  that  of  a  man. 
The  person,  whom  she  at  once  dubbed  the  angel  of  the  Lord, 
looked  down  at  her  coldly,  as  if  his  task  was  one  that  was  not  to 
his  liking;  but  his  gaze  grew  curious  and  even  interested  as  the 
woman  arose,  without  sign  of  fear,  at  his  command,  and  he  even 
smiled  as  she  smoothed  back  her  waving  masses  of  disheveled 
hair  and  knotted  it  smoothly,  confining  it  with  a  quaint  comb 
she  had  somewhere  picked  up  as  a  curiosity,  and  he  himself 
reached  up  to  the  white  bourneous  and  took  it  from  its  hangings, 
then  wrapped  it  closely  about  her  shoulders  saying:  "Thou 
wouldst  else  be  cold." 

The  woman  was  startled,  it  is  true,  but  was  not  alarmed. 
This  looked  a  good  angel  and  when  had  she  ever  feared  the  good? 

Without  further  delay  they  went  out  from  the  solitary 
tent  which  capped  the  hill  top,  and  the  woman  felt  a  little  ex- 
ultant throb,  for  their  steps  were  directed  toward  that  particular 
knoll  where  she  herself  had  located  the  hidden  treasure,  and  this 
tallied  likewise  with  her  theory  that  there  was  an  entrance  other 


*94  1A  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

than  by  that  long  and  perhaps  intricate  subterranean  passage 
whose  mouth  she  knew. 

They  passed  along  the  deep  cut  canyon  and  as  she  had 
guessed,  straight  toward  the  group  of  boulders  which  were  likt 
and  yet  unlike  many  other  groups  near  at  hand. 

Here  her  companion  and  guide  laid  but  his  right  hand 
upon  them,  one  after  another,  and  they  rolled  aside.  And  the 
woman  whispered:  "Thou  art  one  of  the  immortals.  For  to 
human  hands  that  must  have  been  the  work  of  hours,  of  days  per- 
haps." 

The  angel  of  the  Lord  smiled,  then  said  coldly:  "Thy 
safety  here  depends  alone  upon  thy  silence.  Shouldst  thou  but 
speak  one  word  in  the  depths  to  which  we  are  about  to  de- 
scend, thou  wilt  remain  a  prisoner  there.  Better  give  the  mat- 
ter up  and  let  thy  coumity  remain  unsatisfied." 

But  the  woman  made  answer:  "I  will  know  all."  Then 
she  placed  a  finger  upon  her  laughing  lips  and  made  a  sign  for 
him  to  lead  the  way. 

He  looked  at  her  once  more,  with  that  steady,  cold  gaze,  as 
if  he  would  read  her  very  soul,  then  muttering  something  about 
"she  and  she  alone,"  he  once  more  gave  her  warning  as  to  the 
terrors  she  must  encounter,  to  which  she  gave  no  apparent  heed. 
Then  he  swept  away  the  earth  and  small  bits  of  rock  which  en- 
crusted it,  and  a,  heavy  door  of  solid  oak  thickly  studded  with 
nails  was  made  visible. 

This  he  threw  open,  repeating  the  while  something  which 
seemed  strangely  like  an  incantation.  The  massive  door  swept 
slowly  backward,  and  from  the  opening  thus  revealed  there 
came  forth  a  swarm  of  huge  bats.  As  they  poured  thickly  out, 
their  evil  eyes  and  spiteful  wings  were  directed  upon  the  woman 
who  clung  closer  to  her  guide,  and  at  length  hid  her  face  for  pro- 
tection from  their  attacks,  in  his  bosom. 

The  interest  in  his  face  deepened  as  he  flung  his  protect- 
ing arms-  about  her  form  and  spake  in  tones  of  rough  command 
to  the  hellish  swarm  of  evil  spirits  which  had  for  centuries  kept 
faithful  watch  over  the  hidden  treasure ;  and  they  reluctantly, 
as  it  seemed,  drew  back  and  left  the  passage  free. 

The  guide  smiled  again  as  he  noted  that  the  face  of  the 
woman  was  not  pale  with  fear  when  she  raised  it  but  flushed 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  495 

with  indignation.     And  again  he  questioned  softly  of  himself: 
"Can  this  indeed  be  she?" 

"Quien  sake,"  replied  the  woman  haughtily.  "I  have  borne 
several  names  lawfully  upon  the  earth  during  my  short  lifetime 
here  and  am  suspected  by  all  this  spirit  throng  of  having  borne 
many  others.  But  tell  me  before  I  must  seal  my  lips  for  all 
time,  who  is  she  ? ' ' 

He  looked  at  her  strangely  again.  Then  hisi  gaze  grew  cold 
and  hard  and  he  said:  "It  is  forbidden  to  name  her."  Then 
he  raised  a  warning  finger  to  insure  her  silence  and  led  the  way 
through  the  now  open  door,  down  the  seemingly  endless  winding 
staircase,  into  the  black  depths  of  the  earth.  The  woman  fol- 
lowed or  rather  accompanied  him,  for  such  was  her  eagerness  to 
solve  this  haunting  mystery  that  she  kept  pace  with  his  active 
strides.  The  place  was  not  dark  although  the  opening  into  it  had 
looked  tsio  black.  Where  the  light  came  from  it  was  impossible 
for  her  to  tell,  but  light  there  was,  sufficient  to  guide  even  the 
woman  of  defective  sight,  a  light  like  that  of  the  moon  or  of 
the  early  twilight,  with  nothing  in  the  least  uncanny  about  it. 

At  the  foot  of  the  staircase  they  found  themselves  in  a  small 
circular  room  from  which  three  passages  diverged.  The  room 
was  entirely  empty  but  there  were  certain  signs  and  figures 
graven  upon  its  stuccoed  walls,  and  the  woman's  guide  scanned 
these  carefully  before  he  chose  the  central  passage,  and  laying 
his  finger  upon  her  lips  to  once  again  insure  her  total  silence,  he 
drew  her  along  it  with  hurried  steps. 

The  woman  bound  her  handkerchief  about  her  mouth  as  a 
further  reminder  to  herself,  then  smiled  up  into  the  face  of  him 
who  was  with  her.  But  she  received  no  answering  smile.  His 
face  was  cold  and  stern.  Evidently  his  present  mission  was,  as 
I  have  said,  not  to  his  liking. 

Phantom  shapes  seemed  to  flit  before  them  in  the  dark  pas- 
sages as  if  barring  or  perhaps  clearing  the  way  for  them. 

Another  door  was  reached  and  passed,  and  then  another, 
and  then  they  passed  into  a  high  arched  chamber.  And  there — 
(it  was  well  that  the  woman  had  bandaged  her  mouth  or  the  cry 
which  escaped  her  must  have  sealed  her  doom)  for  there  swung 
from  beneath  the  vaulted  ceiling,  just  as  it  must  in  times  of  old 
have  swung  from  the  great  bell-tower  on  the  church,  was  the 


496  LA   GRAN   QUIBIBA 

great  bell.  With  this  smothered  cry  of  triumph  the  woman 
sprang  forward. 

A  voice  which  was  not  that  of  her  guide,  but  stern  and  for- 
bidding in  its  accents  cried:  "Touch  not!" 

Too  late.  The  woman  had  grasped  the  pendant  silver  chain 
and  had  rung  a  triumphant  peal,  although  she  obeyed  the  stern 
command  as  soon  as  it  was  given,  and  desisted. 

The  bell  had  awakened  echoes  that  were  not  those  of  its 
own  golden  chimes,  but  shrieks  of  rage  and  groans.  But  the  wo- 
man was  in  no  wise  daunted.  She  did  not  attempt  to  ring  the 
bell  again,  but  looked  up  at  it,  as  it  still  vibrated  there,  and 
laughed  and  cried  at  once  and  clapped  her  hands  in  glee.  For 
the  bell  was  an  old  friend.  Had  she  not  heard  its  smothered 
tones  times  without  number,  and  had  she  not  truthfully  said  that 
they,  who  claimed  it  had  been  removed  from  this  place  years  be- 
fore, had  lied? 

Her  guide  was  more  terrified  than  she.  The  hand  which 
grasped  her  arm  tightly,  trembled,  while  his  eyes  sought  hers  in 
troubled  wonder.  Then  he  hurried  her  out  of  this  chamber  and  on 
through  an  almost  interminable  passage.  And  wondering  as  she 
did,  at  all  she  had  seen,  she  did  not  neglect  to  note  the  direction 
and  felt  that  she  could  locate  the  precise  place  above  ground 
which  covered  the  chamber  she  had  just  visited  and  the  cor- 
ridor along  which  she  was  being  so  hastily  drawn. 

They  then  entered  another  chamber  and  another  smothered 
exclamation  escaped  from  her  muffled  lips.  They  stood  now  in 
a  second  vaulted  chamber  circular  like  the  other  they  had  left. 
Steps  of  purest  white  rock  which  glowed  like  jasper  in  the  light 
that  came  from  she  knew  not  whence,  descended  upon  all  sides 
as  in  a  vast  amphitheater,  from  dome  to  pit  as  it  were,  wherein 
lay  like  a  great  diamond  in  a  setting  of  pearl,  a  beautiful  limpid 
spring,  circled  and  upheld  as  it  would  seem  by  a  great  urn- 
shaped  basin. 

The  woman  sprang  along  the  narrow  aisle  between  the 
flights  of  steps  and  filled  the  golden  goblet  which  stood  upon 
the  edge  of  the  broad-rimmed  urn  and  then  with  a  gleeful  but 
suppressed  laugh  she  raised  it,  brimful  of  the  sparkling  fluid,  to 
her  lips. 

"Taste  not!"  The  voice  was  imperative  but  the  command 
had  come  too  late,  for  the  woman  had  already  drained  the  gob- 
let, and  now  she  set  it  down  with  a  comical  air  of  obedience. 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  497 

Her  guide  trembled  more  and  more.  But  the  woman  looked 
about  her  in  search  of  the  owner  of  the  mysterious  voice. 

The  angel  of  the  Lord  stooped  and  looked  into  her  eyes  once 
again,  his  own  asking  plainly:  "Art  she?" 

And  the  woman  made  him  a  mocking  courtesy  which  ques- 
tioned just  as  plainly  in  reply:  "Quien  sabe?" 

Then  they  went  forward,  and  well  was  it  for  the  woman 
that  she  carefully  noted  their  route.  A  third  vaulted  chamber 
was  reached,  through  many  others  and  with  many  obstacles 
presented,  as  the  quick  wit  of  the  woman  determined  to  con- 
fuse and  to  entangle  them  in  these  labyrinthine  passages,  and 
they  stood  within  the  treasure  house  of  the  dead.  No  cry  es- 
caped the  woman  here.  But  now  her  foot  struck  against  some- 
thing whose  sharp  point  pierced  her  leathern  shoe  and  she 
stooped  to  pick  it  up. 

"Handle  not,"  came  the  thrice-repeated  hoarse  command, 
but  again  too  late.  For  with  a  swift  movement  the  woman  had 
already  raised  from  the  floor  just  within  the  doorway  through 
which  they  had  entered,  a  small  jewel-hilted  dagger;  and  when 
the  stern  command  reached  her  ears,  she  stuck  it  in  the  waist- 
band of  her  dress,  then  pursed  up  her  lips  and  clasping  her 
hands  behind  her  as  if  to  compel  them  to  obedience,  she  peered 
about  her. 

It  seemed  to  her  that  many  hands  were  uplifted,  as  if  to 
smite  her  for  her  daring,  but  none  dared  touch  her.  And  by 
the  light  of  the  triple-headed  torch  which  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
had  taken  from  the  passage  without  (  for  into  this  chamber  no 
light  ever  penetrated,  for  the  blackest  darkness  lent  its  aid  in 
safely  guarding  the  treasures  doubly  accursed  of  God  and  man.) 

She  beheld  from  floor  to  ceiling,  shelves  and  open  boxes,  and 
strewn  about  the  floor  quaint  jewels  and  vessels  and  ornaments, 
with  huge  bars  of  gold  and  silver,  and  closed  coffers  and  leath- 
ern bags  which  helped  to  confine  within  bounds  these  untold 
riches,  all  of  which  sparkled  and  gleamed  in  the  torchlight  for 
that  moment  in  which  the  angel  of  the  Lord  stood  speechless  at 
her  daring.  Then  he  cried  aloud  forgetting  that  he  was  subject 
to  the  penalty  for  broken  silence :  ' '  Thou  art  she.  Of  a  surety 
thou  art  she." 

Then  tb*  woman  saw  a  gigantic  figure  spring  from  out  the 
darkness.  The  torch  was  struck  from  the  hand  of  her  guide,  and 


498  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

falling  into  what  she  now  saw  was  a  pool  of  blood,  it  sputtered 
and  went  out  leaving  the  chamber  in  midnight  darkness.  Then 
there  was  a  scuffle,  a  groan  or  two,  eldritch  shrieks  and  cries  as 
of  myriads  of  exultant  demonds,  then  the  command ;  ' '  Blind  him 
fast!"  from  that  terrible  voice,  which  it  would  seem  was  the 
only  one  permitted  to  break  the  silence  here  with  articulate 
speech.  Then  it  cried:  "Time's  up,"  and  turning  swiftly  as 
was  her  need,  the  woman  sped  through  the  door  whose  creaking 
hinges  told  that  it  was  closing  upon  her.  It  clanged  to,  with  a 
heavy  crash  so  close  behind  her  that  it  caught  and  held  her  fast 
by  the  skirt  of  her  robe.  She  snatched  the  jeweled  dagger  from 
her  belt  and  stooping  cut  herself  loose  from  its  hold  leaving  that 
portion  of  the  garment  still  within  its  clutches. 

Then  with  an  inspiration  which  seemed  born  of  her  terror 
and  of  her  haste,  she  quickly  knotted  to  this  one  end  of  a  huge 
ball  of  cord  she  had  carried  with  her,  having  had  a  vague  idea 
of  finding  some  such  use  for  it 

She  then  hurriedly  retraced  her  steps,  quaking  in  terror  as 
she  sped  through  the  rooms  containing  the  buried  water  and  the 
hanging  bell,  lest  by  some  horrible  fatality  she  touch  the  for- 
bidden objects  and  so  be  held,  herself,  a  captive  here,  and  on- 
ward into  the  outer  air.  And  as  she  passed  through  each  of  the 
still  open  doorways  she  heard  them  clang  together,  close  behind 
her,  jerking  but  happily  not  breaking  the  cord  which  even  in 
this  hour  of  mortal  terror  she  determined  should  guide  herself 
and  others  to  the  uncovering  of  these  hidden  treasures,  and  to 
the  release  of  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  who  had  proven  after  all 
to  be  less  powerful  than  sihe,  and  whose  voice  once  raised  in 
these  enchanted  depths  could  now  never  be  stilled  until  some 
one  was  found  strong  enough  to  release  him,  and  who  so  strong 
as  she,  upon  whose  name  he  called  without  ceasing  ?  And  Ah ! 
How  its  despairing  tones  smote  upon  her  heart  and  reproached 
her,  for  the  helplessness  for  which  she  was  in  no  way  responsi- 
ble. 

The  woman  found  her  tent  in  the  darkness  which  comes 
just  before  the  day  better  perhaps  than  she  could  have  done  in 
the  light  which  rendered  all  objects  dim  and  unreal  to  her  im- 
perfect vision,  and  so  rendered  all  confusing  to  her.  Then  she 
lay  down  to  quiet  her  overtaxed  nerves,  but  not  to  sleep.  For 
no  rest  could  come  to  her  until  her  guide  had  been  released  from 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  499 

his  imprisonment,  and  his  voice  stilled  from  its  wailing  entreat- 
ies for  help. 

Twenty  times  a  day  she  took  that  jewel-hilted  dagger  from 
her  belt  and  eyed  it  closely,  and  the  skirt  of  the  garment  which 
she  had  cut  away,  in  order  to  convince  herself  that  this  was  no 
vision  but  pura  reality,  and  listened  intently  that  she  might  catch 
distinctly  the  name  which  this  imploring  voice,  that  voice 
she  had  so  lately  heard  by  her  bedside  calling  unceasingly  from 
out  the  depths  of  the  earth.  But  the  sound  was  indistinct  as 
those  to  which  she  had  accustomed  herself,  and  sometimes  it 
seemed  to  call:  "Le  Beithe,"  sometimes  "Deavanna,"  some- 
times ' '  Marahquirita, ' '  then  "Marah,"  and  even  her  own  of 
"Marguerite." 

For  the  woman  possessed  this  name  and  she  was  Marguerite 
Jerome.  When  she  handled  the  dagger,  she  seemed  to  remem- 
ber that  she  had  often  done  so  before.  As  she  looked  curiously 
at  its  jeweled  hilt,  she  saw  it  was  blood-encrusted  and  it  never 
failed  to  call  up  the  images  of  two  beautiful  little  children, 
whose  snow  white  naked  limbs  gleamed  like  alabaster  in  some  il- 
lumined light,  but  vivified  by  their  wealth  of  golden  hair,  and 
whose  deep  blue  eyes  looked  reproachfully  into  her  own.  And 
Marguerite  Jerome  said:  "'Because  in  that  other  life  I  slew  my 
children,  that  I  might  save  them  from  the  grasp  of  those  very 
demons  I  heard  calling  from  out  the  depths  while  they  yet 
possessed  the  semblance  of  living  man,  I  was  denied  that  one 
comfort  of  motherhood  in  this  life,  which  has  but  repeated  itself 
again  and  again  upon  the  earth."  And  she  determined  to  use 
these  evil  spirits  leashed  in  the  depths  of  the  earth;  to  compel 
them  to  do  her  bidding  and  to  release  from  the  depths  that 
friend  and  guide  whom  she  identified  under  the  cognomen  of 
"the  angel  of  the  Lord,"  which,  alone,  she  was  powerless  to  do. 

As  it  was  they  only  annoyed,  they  did  not  terrify  her,  for 
she  knew  that  they  had  no  further  power  over  her. 


500  LA   GRAN   QUffilBA 

CANTO  THE  SEVENTH. 
"WAIT  'TIL  i  COME  AGAIN." 

Again  it  was  night,  and  the  woman  was  wide  awake.  She 
had  learned  to  know  now  when  things  were  about  to  occur  which 
it  was  forbidden  that  she  should  understand.  It  was  true  that 
the  spirits  which  surrounded  her  were  unwilling  that  she  should 
see  or  hear  aught  that  was  going  on  among  themselves,  parts  of 
a  regular  hourly  programme  with  which  her  very  presence  here 
seemed  to  interfere.  Theseshedid,  however,  sometimes  both  see  and 
hear  understandingly.  But  there  were  mysteries  enacted  that,  as 
I  have  said,  she  seemed  forbidden  either  to  witness  by  sight  or 
through  her  keen  sense  of  hearing.  She  knew  this  now  by  the 
persistence  with  which  the  unseen  hands  strove  to  hold  her 
down  and  place  her  under  the  safe  restraint  of  mesmeric  sleep. 
Fearing  that  some  awful  penalty  might  be  attached  to  her.  dis- 
obedience, and  her  nerves  being  by  this  time  so  severely  racked 
and  prostrated  by  these  long,  weary  and  unsatisfactory  vigils, 
she  simply  now  tested  their  intentions  and  finding  them  deter, 
mined  to  persist,  she  gave  way  and  permitted  them  to  put  her  to 
sleep,  under  the  impression  which  was  somehow  forced  upon 
her  that  these  were  friendly  spirits  whose  good  offices  she  must 
not  refuse. 

But  this  was  one  of  her  wakeful  nights,  as  I  have  said,  and 
she  lay  there  upon  her  uncouth  couch  thinking,  as  the  many 
other  victims  of  insomnia  thought  upon  this  particular  night, 
of  the  many  experiences  of  her  former  life,  striving  to  compel 
memory  to  deafen  her  ears  to  the  many  wierd  and  uncanny 
sounds  about  her.  But  through  it  all,  in  spite  of  her  efforts, 
came  the  customary  appeal  of  the  angel  of  the  Lord  which  al- 
ways smote  upon  her  ear,  awakening  a  feeling  akin  to  remorse, 
for  it  had  been  at  her  bidding,  as  it  were,  his  terrible  doom  had 
overtaken  him.  Could  anything  be  more  awful  than  the  thought 
of  an  angel  of  light  bound  in  the  toils  of  darkness? 

Then  there  was  the  continuous  cry  of  the  men  whom  she 
knew,  who  had  been  buried  alive  in  that  subterranean  passage, 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  501 

and  of  whose  death  she  had  perhaps  been  the  innocent  cause, 
but  she  could  not  get  further  intelligent  response  to  her  oft- 
repeated  questions,  and  their  cries  confused  her  thoughts  and 
irritated  her  almost  beyond  endurance. 

"Tell  me.  Art  thou  yet  alive  down  there,  or  art  thou 
dead?"  and  this  question  appeared  to  puzzle  them.  They  would 
still  their  voices  as  if  in  doubt,  then  commence  again  their  de- 
mand for  their  murderer  and  shout :  " ! ! !" 

Then  there  was  the  mournful  chant  of  him  who  seemed  to  be 
upon  an  eternal  search  for  something;  the  cries  of  "Oh,  God! 
0,  Dois!"  the  voice  of  the  praying  Samuel  and  a  thousand  and 
one  other  sounds  which  had  become  familiar  to  her  tortured 
ears ;  and  then  eternally  passing  by  was  the  lifeless  tinkle  of  the 
bells  upon  that  shadowy  flock  of  sheep  or  goats. 

Then  all  at  once  there  broke  through  this  medley  of  discord- 
ant sounds,  the  striking  of  that  golden  bell. 

The  woman  sprang  up  at  once  and  went  to  undo  the  fasten- 
ings of  her  tent,  obeying  not  altogether  a  sudden  impulse,  but 
following  out  a  settled  determination  to  speak  with  him  she 
called  the  gentle  shepherd.  So  she  hastily  called  out  once 
again  as  she  undid  the  fastenings:  "Gentle  shepherd!  Gentle 
shepherd !  Wait  and  speak  with  me." 

As  before,  her  call  was  heard  and  was  obeyed.  For  as 
she  thrust  her  form  through  the  opening  he  who  had  passed  by 
and  was  now  at  a  short  distance  beyond,  turned  and  looked  back 
at  her,  and  she  saw  him  there  under  the  moonlight,  that  beautiful 
white-robed  figure,  but  lit  up  as  well  by  a  halo  which  surrounded 
him  and  which  seemed  to  emanate  from  himself.  His  face  was 
pale  and  tremulous  with  suppressed  agony,  showing  paler  still 
in  contrast  with  the  golden  brown  of  his  sorrowful  eyes  and  that 
of  his  hair  and  beard.  Upon  his  shoulder  was  perched  a  beauti- 
ful snow  white  bird  whose  crested  head  and  the  feathers  of 
whose  fan-shaped  tail  wore  the  changeful  hues  of  the  rainbow. 
And  as  the  bell-like  notes  of  this  bird  sounded  a  halt,  she  knew 
what  she  had  before  suspected  when  she  had  heard  it  in  the  dis- 
tance, that  this  note  was  not  the  golden  bell  for  which  she  had 
mistaken  it.  But  she  had  no  eyes  but  for  a  hasty  glance  at  this 
bird  and  at  the  shadowy  forms  of  the  multitudes  of  sheep  which 
made  up  the  flock  that  followed  in  the  wake  of  the  gentle  shep- 


502  LA  GRAN   QUIBIRA 

herd,  and  which  were  guided  at  his  signal  by  the  beautiful  bell- 
like  notes  of  this  bird  of  paradise,  for  his  face  claimed  her  whole 
attention. 

But  as  his  sorrowful  eyes  rested  upon  her  own,  a  glad  light 
swept  away  the  sorrow  there,  and  he  came  forward  with  out- 
stretched hand  exclaiming:  "Marie!  Marie!  Thou?" 

Then  as  if  hurt  by  her  silence  and  the  puzzled  look  upon 
her  face  he  added:  "Marie,  dost  thou  not  know  met" 

' '  Yes.  I  know  thee, ' '  was  her  slow  reply.  ' '  Thou  art  Jesus 
of  Nazareth.  ButI-"? 

' '  Art  Marie.    Hast  forgotten  Bethany,  by  Gallilee  's  sea  ? " 

The  woman  came  forward  without  fear  and  took  the  out- 
stretched hands,  and  as  in  a  dream  she  was  back  again  in  Beth- 
any by  the  sea.  Again  she  stood  within  the  vine-covered  cottage 
wherein  was  laid  the  frugal  yet  holiday  supper  of  fish  and  bread 
and  fruits,  against  the  Master's  coming;  and  again  she  heard  the 
voice  of  her  sister  Martha  upbraiding  her  for  her  dreamy  idle- 
ness ;  and  then  she  hastened  to  re-arrange  the  figs  and  dates  and 
grapes  and  pomegranates  upon  their  own  glossy  leaves,  striving 
to  make  up  by  their  beauty  and  their  abundance  for  the  scarcity 
of  the  more  solid  food,  and  blushing  rosily  as  she  heard  the 
step  of  the  Master  accompanying  that  of  her  brother  Matthew  and 
his  friends. 

Yes.  She  remembered.  But  she  did  not  lose  the  conscious- 
ness of  her  present  identity  and  was  sorely  puzzled  by  it  and 
somewhat  afraid  at  the  thought  of  this  strange  dual  existence. 

She  questioned  him  as  after  that  greeting  they  wandered 
to  the  hilltop  and  seated  themselves  there  to  enjoy  the  moonlight 
scene,  to  rest  the  weary  foot-sore  shepherd  and  to  recount  the 
scenes  of  their  youth.  Long  was  their  speech  together  this  night, 
and  upon  the  two  that  followed  it,  for  as  he  had  said,  he  must  be 
off  again  upon  the  third  day.  To  her  great  surprise,  she  learned 
that  her  own  decision  as  to  the  ignorance  of  these  spirits  who 
had  passed  through  the  ordeal  of  death,  formed  from  her  obser- 
vations of  all  that  passed  on  around  her,  was  not  only  correct, 
but  was  to  a  great  extent  shared  by  him.  However,  she  found 
her  own  knowledge  of  his  trials  and  destiny  outstripped  his  own. 

"I  failed  somewhere,"  he  said,  "but  where?  But  most  I 
think  I  lost  in  repudiating  by  my  priestly  vows  the  love  of  wo- 
man kind.  Didst  know  how  much  I  loved  thee,  Marie? " 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  503 

The  woman  shook  her  head  uneasily.  "And  thou?  Dost 
thou  forget  that  I  have  lived  another  life  since  I  loved  and  wor- 
shipped thee  ?  And  have  been  wooed  as  thou  didst  not  woo  me, 
and  have  been  won  time  and  time  again?" 

He  sighed  a  little,  then  smiled  down  upon  her.  And  the 
radiance  of  that  smile  seemed  to  endow  her  with  new  life. 

Then  he  said:  "We  live  time  and  time  again,  that  I  know, 
although  much  of  this  mystery  is  as  yet  by  me  unsolved.  With 
this  life  I  have  little  to  do  except  to  strengthen  thy  faith.  But 
thy  old  life  in  Judea?  Was  not  I  a  part  of  that?" 

"The  strongest  part.  For  after  thy  death,  life  was  barren 
of  all  joy  and  hope  and  peace.  I  well  remember  how  I  pined 
and  pined,  caring  naught  for  life  and  courting  death  until 
death  came.  And  how — ah !  Thou  shouldst  have  seen  that — 
how  my  sister  Martha  nursed  and  petted  me.  She  who  had  done 
nothing  but  chide  me  for  my  idleness  before,  enforced  that  same 
idleness  now.  But  I  ?  I  had  naught  to  do  with  thy  death  and 
thy  sufferings?" 

"Didst  not?     Hast  forgotten  Judas?" 

"Iscariot?"  No,  the  woman  had  not  forgotten  him.  Nor 
had  she  forgotten  that  Judas  Iscariot  had  sued  for  the  love 
which  she  had  given  to  the  Master.  His  handsome  face  rose  be- 
fore her  now,  with  its  dark  and  evil  beauty.  But  where  else  had 
she  seen  that  face  ?  Ah !  It  all  came  back  to  her  now.  The  last 
scene  in  the  second  act  of  her  present  life-drama.  The  golden- 
haired  Willis  St.  Aubyn  with  his  face  purified  into  the  loveli- 
ness of  the  angels  by  his  long  illness,  the  fond  father  and  mother 
and  wife  and  the  false  friend  who  ministered  unto  him  upon 
that  last  evening  of  his  short  earthly  life ;  the  Judas  who  had  be- 
trayed him  into  death's  own  hands— Orville  Roumaine.  There 
could  be  no  mistake.  Willis  had  indeed  been  murdered,  not  by 
his  faithful  young  wife,  but  by  his  schoolmate,  Orville  Roumaine. 
(The  mother's  instinct  had  been  unerring). 

Then  she  turned  again  to  the  master.  "But  we  never  spoke 
of  human  love;  only  of  love  divine." 

"That  was  one  great  mistake  of  mine.  Others  I  know  not. 
But  if  I  had  chosen  thee  as  a  helpmate,  Marie,  perhaps  I  might 
have  succeeded  wherein  I  failed." 

"No.  Thou  didst  not  fail."  And  she  told  him  that  which 
she  saw.  He  already  knew  of  the  great  and  growing  power  of 


504  LA   GRAN   QUIBIEA 

his  church.  But  he  sadly  pointed  to  the  two  great  flocks  which 
were  grazing  near,  the  black  sheep  and  goats,  and  the  white  ones 
— those  with  the  lifeless  tinkling  bells,  and  those  who  followed 
his  own  bird-watcher — and  he  questioned:  "Which  is  the  larger? 
Which  contains  the  greater  number  of  souls?  My  own  flock  or 
Satan's  herd?" 

Then  she  asked  of  many  things.  Of  some  he  said:  "It  is 
forbidden  me  to  speak  of  these  things."  But  of  most  he  an- 
swered piteously:  "Alas!  I  do  not  know." 

Then  the  woman  poured  into  his  wondering  ears  the  story 
of  her  latest  life  and  to  what  conclusions  its  sad  experiences  had 
led  her. 

And  he  said:  "Thou  art  wiser  than  I,  and  thou  art  a  wo- 
man." 

When  she  had  told  him  all,  a  light  seemed  to  break  in  upon 
him.  Many  things  which  had  before  seemed  inexplicable  to  him, 
were  made  clear.  His  agony  in  the  garden  where,  he  confessed, 
he  had,  as  her  woman 'is  wit  had  told  her,  resisted  the  great  temp- 
tation to  undo  all  his  work  by  ending  his  life  by  his  own  hand  in 
some  less  painful  manner  than  that  one  allotted  to  him.  He  now 
knew  that  the  woman  was  right  in  believing  his  mission  but  half 
fulfilled.  For  the  sacrifice  had  not  as  yet  been  wholly  fulfilled. 
And  he  assured  her  that  what  she  had  also  guessed,  was  true — 
he,  too,  had  groped  about  in  ignorance  of  many  things  which 
were  but  half  guessed  by  him  during  his  life  upon  the  earth, 
and  the  knowledge  of  which  had  not  yet  been  given  unto  him  be- 
cause his  expiation  had  not  as  yet  been  made  complete. 

And  she  had  said:  "That  release  will  never  come  to  thee 
until  one  comes  forward  who  will  complete  thy  mission.  That 
one  will  be  a  woman.  One  who  adored  thee  in  that  olden  time," 

Then  He  had  wept  and  pleaded :  ' '  Oh,  no.  Not  thou,  Marie, 
For  that  would  mean  for  us,  separation  eternal." 

But  she  had  only  smiled  and  soothed  his  troubled  spirit;  she 
made  him  no  promises,  for  in  that  moment  the  resolve  she  had 
formed  long  since  was  strengthened  within  her  and  she  knew 
that  for  his  sake  she  would  be  able  to  accomplish  the  sacrifice. 

The  time  was  up  and  he  must  move  on  where  duty  called. 
So  with  a  hurried  kiss  upon  her  check  and  brow  and  lips  he 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  505 

called  together  his  flock  and  left  her,  saying:  "Wait  'til  I  come 
again.  I  will  ask  concerning  all  these  things,  and  will  beg  the 
right  to  disclose  all  to  thee.  I  have  this  right  and  for  the  first 
time  I  understand  the  necessity  of  making  use  of  it." 

He  was  gone  leaving  the  woman  alone  in  the  gloaming  which 
now  seemed  black  as  midnight  when  bereft  of  the  halo  his  pres- 
ence had  cast  about  them,  and  the  woman  sat  down  there  to  wait 
the  long  night  through,  until  the  sun  would  guide  her  back  to 
her  primitive  home.  But  a  golden  bell  sounded  near  her  and 
a  dulcet  voice  said:  "Come  this,  way,  Marie."  And  following 
without  a  word  she  soon  found  herself  at  the  opening  of  her 
tent  where  she  crept  into  bed  feeling  more  than  she  had  ever 
done  before  the  utter  loneliness  of  a  life  that  had  been  "set 
apart." 


506  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 


CANTO  THE  EIGHTH. 
"JUDAS  ISCARIOT." 

Those  were  dreary  weeks  which  followed,  with  no  sound  of 
the  voice  of  the  gentle  shepherd,  no  chime  as  of  golden  bells ;  with 
only  the  gruesome  calls  of  the  quickened  spirits  below  and  the 
dead  tinkle  of  the  dead  bells  above  the  monotony  of  which  was 
relieved  only  at  times  in  a  manner  that  was  not  more  agreeable, 
by  the  calls  of  the  numerous  sheep  herders  (all  Mexican)  to 
whom  it  was  almost  an  impossibility  to  converse  intelligently. 

The  woman's  own  description  of  her  knowledge  of  the  Mexi- 
can dialect  was  to  the  point.  She  said :  "  I  say  what  I  intend  to. 
Of  course  I  know  perfectly  well  what  I  say,  but  the  chances  are 
that  the  Mexican  to  whom  I  speak  knows  or  pretends  to  know 
nothing  whatever  about  it.  So  I  begin  again  and  add  a  gusset 
or  a  gore,  and  put  a  ruffle  to  the  whole.  If  this  will  not  an. 
swer,  then  I  re-laundry  the  whole  thing,  let  down  the  hem  and 
pull  out  the  tucks  and  after  this  the  sefior  is  sure  to  comprender 
rather  more  than  he  did  of  the  beauties  and  pliability  of 
his  own  language.  But  let  me  tell  thee  this.  This  semi-ignor- 
ance of  the  tongue  has  its  advantages  too.  For  when  anything 
offensive  assails  my  ears  I  have  only  to  declare  that  I,  too,  no 
comprender  in  an  icy  tone  of  voice  to  check  the  most  impertin- 
ent." 

And  it  was  truly  nothing  short  of  a  miracle  that  this  wo- 
man, alone  and  unprotected,  in  the  heart  of  a  desolate  wilder- 
ness, escaped  harm  at  the  hands  of  these  rude  men.  Her  safety 
was  without  doubt  due  to  the  fact  that  they  stood  in  something 
of  respectful  awe  of  one  of  such  a  daring  spirit,  and  besides,  al- 
though she  scolded  and  forbade  them  and  their  flocks  the  ground, 
she  never  failed  to  regale  them  with  their  favorite  beverage, 
coffee,  or  a  dish  of  frijoles. 

She  wandered  about  that  portion  of  the  grounds  which  was 
familiar,  and  deeply  now  did  she  regret  that  she  had  not  en- 
listed Howard  Gould  in  her  cause,  but  she  had  been  restrained 
by  thlat  impossibility  which  a  good  and  generous  woman  exper- 
iences of  not  laying  herself  under  moneyed  obligations  to  the 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  507 

man  who  has  wooed  her  in  vain.  For  Howard  had  visited  her 
here  for  the  second  time.  Upon  the  occasion  of  his  first  visit,  she 
had  been  bound  to  another,  and  when  he  heard  of  her  release,  he 
had  sought  for  her  and  found  her  here. 

He  had  said:  "If  you  cannot  be  my  wife,  Daisy,  then  leave 
this  terrible  life  and  live  with  me  as  my  sister,  safe  from  all 
hardship  and  all  care." 

But  she  had  only  laughed  and  answered  lightly:  "Custom 
forbids.  Why  Howdy,  they,  thy  good  friends  would  have  thee 
arested  under  the  Edmund's  Act."  Then  she  had  flushed  scar- 
let at  the  sayings  of  her  unbridled  tongue,  while  his  face  had 
grown  pale  and  sorrowful. 

Would  her  craving  after  a  love,  which  was  more  ideal  than 
real,  since  it  was  that  horror  of  personal  surrender  which  had 
made  her  say  "nay"  to  her  old  friend  and  schoolmate  whom  she 
loved  more  deeply  perhaps  than  any  other  living  creature — 
would  that  craving  ever  be  gratified,  she  wondered? 

She  had  never  before  realized  what  she  now  felt  to  be  the 
truth,  that  in  her  eager  wistful  search  for  this  love  which  was 
to  satisfy  the  longings  of  a  lifetime,  she  had  been  guilty  of  what 
others  did  not  scruple  to  call  her  love  of  coquetry,  for  she 
had  smiled  and  dimpled  and  met  half  way  the  love  that  had 
been  offered  her,  only  to  cast  it  aside  as  worthless  when  she 
found  it  to  be  of  the  carnal  order,  with  little  of  the  ethereal 
about  it. 

A  traveler  had  come  one  day  to  the  place  while  yet  Howard 
remained,  unwilling  to  give  up  his  hopes  that  the  woman  would 
relent  and  change  her  no  to  yes.  The  traveler  was  making 
his  way  to  where  the  figure  of  a  man  (Howard  Gould's  own) 
was  outlined  against  the  brilliant  blue  of  the  sky,  when  he  heard 
the  shrill  treble  of  the  voice  of  the  woman  which  trilled  an  aria 
that  sounded  familiar  to  him,  and  turning  aside  from  the  course 
he  was  pursuing  he  saw  at  a  little  distance,  a  small  tent  before 
which  a  woman  was  diligently  sawing  a  huge  limb  of  cedar  wood 
for  burning.  With  the  outward  chivalry  which  always  prompted 
him  to  offer  his  services  to  anything  in  petticoats  he  doffed  his 
hat  and  approached  the  woman. 

She  knew  him  at  once  and  greeted  him  coldly.  He  gazed  long 
and  earnestly  into  her  face  before  he  recognized  her. 


508  LA  GRAN  QUIBIEA 

Then  he  changed  his  tactics.  Instead  of  offering  his  services 
to  saw  the  wood  for  her,  he  took  her  resisting  hands  into  his 
own,  and,  remembering  that  a  former  rival  was  near,  and  hop- 
ing to  supersede  him,  perhaps,  he  told  the  woman  he  had 
sought  her  here  in  the  hope  of  gaining  her  consent  to  be  his 
wife. 

"Why,  Daisy,"  he  said,  "You  surely  cannot  hope  that  your 
friends  will  permit  you  to  live  this  solitary— this  almost  dis- 
reputable life.  You  need  the  love  of  some  good  man  as  a  protec- 
tion and  a  shield." 

And  she  had  thought  with  passionate  regret  and  sorrow: 
"I  am  too  blind  and  helpless  to  hope  to  win  the  love  of  any  man 
in  his  senses.  The  thought  is  simply  absurd,  and  as  to  marrying 
any  man  who  is  out  of  his  senses— why  I  have  had  quite  enough 
of  that  sort  of  thing."  And  she  sighed  for  the  very  remem- 
brance of  those  last  few  months  of  Laurence  Jerome's  life,  dur- 
ing which  her  charge  was  over  a  raving  maniac,  overcame  her 
with  a  sense  of  unutterable  weariness. 

She  had  said  as  much  to  Howard,  who  tried  to  persuade  her 
once  more  against  her  own  judgment,  and  it  was  very  hard  for 
her  to  deny  the  prayers  of  this  old  and  tried  friend. 

She  had  no  such  qualms  of  conscience  here,  however,  and 
could  say  no  shortly  and  with  uncompromising  emphasis  to 
Orville  Roumaine. 

This  she  had  done,  and  he  had  left  her  in  bitter  anger  and 
resentment  with  a  muttered  threat  to  which  she  paid  no  heed 
whatever. 

She  had  managed  to  keep  the  two,  Howard  and  Orville, 
apart,  however,  and  now  both  were  gone,  and  she  was  left  alone 
with  the  uneasy  haunting  spirits  of  good  and  of  evil  for  her  only 
companions.  The  visit  of  the  two  had  unhappily  passed,  how- 
ever, before  she  had  visited  the  subterranean  treasure  house,  else 
she  would  have  secured  their  aid  in  uncovering  the  mystery  of 
those  secret  chambers. 

Day  and  night  what  she  called  the  Sacred  Drama,  went  on 
about  her. 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  509 

CANTO  THE  NINTH. 
"THE  JOURNEY  DOWN  INTO  HADES." 

The  twenty  days  which  must  elapse  before  the  coining  of 
Dow,  whom  she  had  engaged  to  carry  her  and  a  small  portion  of 
her  belongings  across  to  the  railway,  had  long  since  passed  by 
and  another  twenty  days  seemed  about  to  follow  them. 

Upon  that  morning— that  of  the  twenty-first  day  of  June— 
in  despair  of  getting  away  from  the  place,  and  suspecting  from 
many  things  that  had  come  up,  that  it  was  meant  to  keep  her  a 
prisoner  here  for  the  safety  of  others,  and  that  more  than  one 
opportunity  of  being  taken  over  to  the  Rio  by  chance  passers-by 
had  escaped  her  because  she  was  so  far  away  from  the  water, 
having  breakfasted  upon  her  last  loaf  and  been  sickened  by  the 
stagnant  water  in  the  bottom  of  her  water  barrel,  no  signs  of 
human  life  having  shown  itself  for  many  days  upon  the  hill, 
she  made  hasty  arrangements  for  a  prompt  retreat. 

Having  bundled  together  all  that  would  be  necessary  for 
even  a  week's  sojourn  at  the  waterside  and  for  her  supplies  along 
the  road  should  she  be  so  fortunate  as  to  secure  a  ride  to  some 
railway  point,  she  locked  and  corded  up  her  trunk,  nailed  up  her 
various  boxes,  secured  her  tent  by  its  fastenings  and  armed  with 
all  the  rope  and  cord  she  possessed,  together  with  half  a 
dozen  spools  of  thread,  this  blind  woman  attached  a  strong  rope 
to  her  bundle  which  she  was  unable  to  lift,  and  started  down 
the  hill  with  a  farewell  promise  to  those  unseen  companions  of 
her  stay,  that  she  would  yet  return  with  the  scoundrel  upon 
whose  name  they  called  unceasingly,  and  would  deliver  him  over 
to  their  vengeance. 

The  ropes,  cords  and  thread  were  as  may  be  supposed  meant 
to  guide  her  safely  upon  her  return  to  her  camp  should  she  fail 
in  being  able  to  find  her  way  to  the  water,  at  the  foot  of  the  hill, 
fully  a  mile  away.  She  had  been  thoughtful  enough  to  carry 
everything  necessary  for  her  flight,  excepting  of  course,  the  most 
important  item  of  all— water.  But  this  she  had  purposely  omit- 
ted because  of  the  sickening  impurity  of  the  small  amount  she 


510  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

had  on  hand.  And  more  than  once  she  had  a  mind  to  turn  back 
urged  by  an  intolerable  thirst  which  was  unquenchable  by  the 
bottle  of  strong  cold  tea  which  her  forethought  had  provided. 
But  her  bundle  was  so  heavy  that  it  was  impossible  to  drag  it 
more  than  a  yard  at  a  time  without  resting,  and  the  rope  she 
found  impracticable  after  the  first  few  tedious  rods,  so  she  had 
there  abandoned  it  and  boldly  faced  the  situation.  It  was  the 
nature  of  the  woman  to  feel  and  to  revel  in  the  sense  of  freedom 
in  this  act  of  casting  away  from  her  every  certainty  of  being 
able  to  regain  her  starting  point,  and  she  laughed  merrily,  with 
her  accustomed  abandon,  as  she  realized  that  her  late  abiding 
place  was  now  more  impossible  to  find,  with  the  sun  nearing  the 
meridian,  than  the  water  for  which  she  had  headed. 

"There  is  no  such  incentive  to  bravery  as  the  hopelessness 
of  retreat,"  she  said.  "I  suppose  all  successful  generals  know 
this,  or  I  might  give  them  the  benefit  of  my  experience  and  say : 
'When  thou  findst  difficulty  in  urging  thy  soldiers  forward  all 
thou  hast  to  do  is  to  deliberately  cut  off  their  retreat. '  ' 

So  her  voice  rose  in  song,  and  with  naught  save  the  sun's 
rays  and  its  uncertainly  distinguished  light  to  guide  her  she 
pushed  forward. 

Now  this  was  all  well  enough  so  long  as  she  had  the  sun's 
rays  to  guide  her  weary  steps,  which  necessarily  halted  at  every 
lurch  she  gave  to  her  heavy  bundle,  and  so  long  as  she  was  cer- 
tain of  her  road.  But  with  every  halt  she  seemed  to  get  farther 
from  the  beaten  track. 

At  noon  the  sun  refused  longer  to  countenance  her  rash  un- 
dertaking and,  as  it  would  seem,  resolved  to  teach  this  refrac- 
tory nature  a  lesson,  so  he  suddenly  withdrew  his  light 

Then  she  prayed.  But  beginning  her  prayer  with :  "Lord, 
when  Thou  reflectest  that  out  of  the  darkness  the  prayers  of 
Thy  creatures  come  to  Thee  in  more  earnest  tones — ,"  she  stop- 
ped to  laugh  and  allowed  her  own  prayer  to  cease  until  such  a 
time  as  she  felt  more  thoroughly  in  earnest,  or  as  she  put  it, 
more  thoroughly  scared  and  in  need  of  other  than  her  self-sus- 
taining powers. 

"Now,"  she  said,  "there  is  a  tree  a  little  farther  on,  which 
from  this  point,  even  to  my  dimmed  sight  is  clearly  outlined 
against  the  sky.  When  I  am  not  able  to  follow  so  plain  a  guide 


A  MUSICAL  MTSTEBT  511 

then— well,  then,  God  help  me.  Amen,    and    she    trudged  slow- 
ly forward. 

Now  what  was  that?  A  voice — surely  a  human  voice,  hal- 
looing. 

She  answered  this,  time  and  time  again.  Then  taking  cour- 
age, she  fired  off  her  revolver  for  the  first  time  since  she  had 
been  at  La  Gran  Quibira,  but  with  no  better  effect.  No  one  re- 
sponded. And  eyeing  her  gun  ruefully  she  parodied  the  little 
Injun  song  singing:  ''Six  good  bullets.  Sakes  alive!  I've 
fooled  one  away,  and  now  there  are  but  five,  and  who  knows," 
she  added,  "but  that  the  whole  six  may  be  needed  before  I  reach 
the  water  even,  in  safety.  And  if  I  reach  it  before  dark  at  this 
rate  I  must  be  up  and  doing. ' ' 

The  spirit  sounds  around  her  never  ceased.  Noting  that 
she  lost  the  sound  of  the  voices  of  those  whom  she  believed  had 
been  buried  alive  many  months  before  in  the  underground 
vaults,  at  precisely  that  distance  she  would  naturally  have 
ceased  to  hear  those  of  the  living,  the  tears  arose  to  her  eyes  at 
the  terrible  thought  which  would  oppress  her  at  times  that  these 
poor  creatures  might  by  some  strange  fatality  yet  be  alive. 

At  a  little  ways  from  her  tent,  she  heard  the  sound  of  a 
miner's  pick— thud,  thud,  thud.  There  could  be  no  mis- 
taking the  sound,  for  the  metal  of  the  tool  resounded  again  and 
again  as  it  struck  sharply  against  a  rock.  She  shouted  angrily 
to  the  offender,  commanding  him  to  desist.  She  came  closer  and 
closer  to  the  point  from  which  the  forbidden  sounds  proceeded, 
but  still  they  kept  on  with  unabated  vigor,  and  now  angry  at 
herself  she  said :  "Fooled  again.  But  I  cannot  understand  why 
these  things  appear  so  natural.  This  spirit  trespasser  upon  my 
grounds  might  answer  me  I  think,  and  relieve  my  doubts.  Per- 
haps he  is  like  some  of  the  living,  he  likes  to  hear  me  scold." 

Then  she  heard,  so  close  at  hand  that  had  there  been  any- 
thing bodily  there,  even  her  dim  sight  must  have  distinguished 
it,  the  sound  as  of  a  heavy  body  dropping  from  a  tree,  and  that 
as  of  one  mounting  some  animal  which  gallop  ped  away  with  a 
patter  as  of  unshod  feet.  "Poor  little  Martine,"  she  exclaimed. 
For  it  was  just  here  she  had  heard  the  voice  of  the  child  cry 
as  if  in  the  last  extremity  of  fear,  or  in  his  death  agony, 
"Mamma!  Mamma!" 


512  LA   GRAN   QUIBIBA 

She  could  hear  everywhere  within  the  ruins  the  sound  of 
picks  and  shovels.  "The  trespassers  believe  that  they  are  well 
rid  of  me, ' '  she  said,  and  she  hallooed  again  and  yet  again  with- 
out eliciting  any  response. 

Again  she  was  momentarily  startled  by  the  sound  as  of  fly- 
ing footsteps  close  behind  her,  and  the  cry  of:  ''Stop  thief!" 
which  made  her  take  a  hasty  mental  inventory  of  the  contents 
of  her  bundle,  to  make  sure  she  had  nothing  within  it  belonging 
to  any  one  else.  At  the  moment  when  she  had  reached  this 
comforting  conclusion,  she  was  further  relieved  by  hearing  the 
footsteps  and  the  voice  pass  by,  or  through  her  (for  she  filled 
the  narrow  pathway,)  and  precede  her  down  the  hill. 

"Well,"  she  said,  "I  will  follow  thee  for  I  think  that  thou 
must  be  going  toward  the  water.  And  I  think  it  no  more  than 
right  that  thou  shouldst  be  made  to  act  as  my  guide  thither,  in 
payment  for  the  start  that  thou  gavest  me.  But  why  cannot  thou 
be  sociable  and  tell  me  what  it  is  that  has  been  stolen  from  thee 
and  who  was  the  thief;  who,  it  is  easy  to  guess  from  this  little 
by-play  covered  his  tracks  by  killing  thee  when  he  found 
thou  hadst  discovered  the  robbery?  No.  No,"  she  added,  cover- 
ing her  ears  with  both  hands  when  the  same  voice  answered  her 
by  calling  upon  that  name  which  every  voice  but  one  of  the 
murdered  many  kept  repeating,  "surely  in  this  age  no  such 
fiend  in  human  shape  exists." 

How  many  times  she  left  and  regained  the  road  it  was  im- 
possible for  her  to  tell.  She  would  lose  herself  and  lie  down  to 
rest  and  to  wait  the  re-appearance  of  her  only  true  guide,  the  sun, 
which  shone  out  at  intervals  with  that  sickening  heat  that  al- 
ways foretells  the  near  approach  of  a  thunder  storm.  But  when 
it  shone  she  took  her  bearings  anew  and  stumbled  forward,  al- 
most dying  with  the  intolerable  heat  and  of  thirst.  Her  brain 
seemed  on  fire  and  her  tongue  swollen  to  twice  its  natural  size. 
She  could  have  easily  made  her  way  without  that  bundle  which 
must  have  weighed  more  than  fifty  pounds,  but  she  knew  she 
would  require  all  it  contained  for  comfort  and  for  subsistence, 
should  the  old  German  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  prove  obdurate  and 
not  permit  her  to  camp  within  the  cabin,  by  the  side  of  the  pump, 
which  disgraced  and  dishonored  the  Living  Waters  spring,  al- 
though this  was  fully  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away  from  the  store  in 
which  this  guardian  of  the  waters  resided. 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  513 

The  voices  grew  and  grew  in  number  and,  in  the  impatience 
of  their  tones.  She  had  long  since  reached  the  foot  of  the  hill 
and  had  passed  through  or  rather  under  the  wire  fence  which 
bounded  the  Living  'Waters  ranch.  Here  she  was  lost  again.  But 
she  argued  that  she  could  return  to  the  fence  and  follow  it  if 
necessary  near  to  the  water  at  least,  and  she  hoped  to  distin- 
guish the  situation  of  the  water  by  the  group  of  trees  which  sur- 
rounded the  cabin  that  had  been  deserted,  as  was  said,  by  the 
two  old  men  Henry  and  Tom. 

Many  of  these  voices  were  familiar  to  her  and  threw  new 
light  upon  the  story  of  the  abandoning  of  this  place  which  she 
knew  had  formed  the  center  of  all  the  hopes  of  these  brothers. 

"Tom,  Tom,"  she  cried.  "Poor  old  Tom.  If  thou  art 
able  to  yell  like  that,  why  can  thee  not  tell  me  all  about  it?  I 
can  of  course  understand  the  motive  here.  Poor  old  Tom.  Why 
after  all  our  rackets,  we  parted  the  very  best  of  friends,  and  I 
would  now  forgive  all  the  underhand  work  of  which  thou  and 
thy  brother  were  guilty  and  bring  thy  enemy  to  justice.  Tell 
me,  Tom.  Poor  old  Tom." 

But  the  voice  only  repeated  that  cry  which  had  tired  her 

ears  for  months  past,  " ! ! ! "    And  then  in 

the  light  of  her  weakness  and  weariness  and  thirst  she  said: 
"Perhaps  this  is  meant  as  a  warning  of  danger  to  me  from 
the  same  source.  Well,"  she  added  stubbornly,  "I  do  not 
choose  to  take  the  warning  any  further  than  to  try  to  check 
my  unruly  tongue  and  to  propitiate  'the  powers  that  be.'  I 
am  too  smart  a  woman  to  be  hoodwinked  by  the  scoundrel,  and 
I  have  faith  to  believe  that  I  am  meant  for  better  things  than 
the  bullet  of  an  assassin."  So  she  lay  down  in  the  middle  of 
the  road,  which  she  had  just  now  had  the  good  fortune  to 
regain  by  some  favorable  accident,  saying:  "If  I  had  not 
been  such  a  ninny  as  to  disregard  the  blessings  which  I  pos- 
sessed for  those  expected,  which  is  to  say  that  if  I  had  but 
brought  a  little  of  that  stinking  water  with  me,  I  would  have 
gone  into  camp  right  here  for  the  night  although  it  threatens 
a  speedy  rain  and  a  heavy  one,  too.  But  I  think,"  she  added 
humorously,  "that  I  have  only  to  offer  up  that  unfinished 
petition  of  mine,  and  God  will  temper  the  wind  to  this  shorn 
lamb  of  uncertain  age  and  hold  in  check  the  waters  for  another 
twenty-four  hours.  I  believe  a  little  blistering  of  my  feet  has 

33 


514  LA  GRAN  QUIBIBA. 

cleared  my  brain  and  I  have  faith  to  believe  that  I  came  not 
into  the  world  to  die  this  sort  of  cowardly  death.  So  I  will 
up,  and  fire  off  that  blessed  revolver  of  mine  and  I  am  certain 
that  if  the  old  Dutchman  is  not  very  deaf,  indeed,  I  must  be 
close  enough  to  his  stolen  residence  to  arouse  him  by  the  sound 
of  the  shots.  And  then  there  is  my  voice.  I  will  back  up  my 
shots  with  that  long-practiced  war-whoop  of  mine,  which  should 
be  heard  by  the  living  since  it  has  been  known  heretofore  to 
waken  the  dead." 

But  even  her  brave  spirit  stood  aghast  when  the  woman 
found  she  had  lost  her  revolver  en  route,  and  with  it  the  can  of 
coffee  with  which,  she  had  argued,  she  could  support  existence 
for  a  few  days  longer.  She  knew  she  had  had  them  at  her 
last  halting-place,  which  could  be  now  but  a  few  yards  away. 
But  which  way?  That  was  to  her  an  unsolvable  problem.  But 
"where  there's  a  will  there's  a  way."  So  she  deliberately  pulled 
on  her  shoes  which  she  had  removed  from  her  aching  feet,  and 
placing  her  bundle  in  the  middle  of  the  road  she  tied  to  it  an 
end  of  one  of  her  spools  of  thread,  and  unwinding  as  she  went 
she  searched,  as  she  supposed,  in  each  and  every  direction,  for 
the  sack  containing  the  missing  articles,  but  in  vain.  It  would 
have  mattered  but  little,  if  the  hour  had  not  been  so  late.  But 
it  was  now  dose  upon  sundown,  and  if  she  found  shelter  for 
the  night  she  must  move  hastily  forward.  So,  comforting  her- 
self with  the  thought  that  if  she  reached  the  cabin,  she  would 
be  certain  to  hear  the  old  man  come  for  water  in  the  morning, 
if  not  that  night,  she  said:  "I  will  lie  down  again  here  upon 
the  roadway  and  rest  myself  for  about  ten  minutes  longer  and 
then  I  must  up  and  away.  In  God  I  trust/' 

For  some  time  now  she  had  heard  a  voice  not  plainer  nor 
more  distinct  than  the  other  voices  around  her  and  not  more 
commonplace,  calling:  "Yo-ho!"  She  had  made  many 
answering  calls  and  had  started  to  follow  the  sound,  but  finding 
by  this  she  had  again  lost  the  road,  and  that  the  voice  sounded 
first  upon  one  side  of  her  and  then  upon  the  other,  she  sat  her- 
self down  again,  stretched  herself  full  length  upon  the  ground 
near  her  bundle,  and  angry  that  she  had  been  enticed  from  the 
road,  determined  to  camp  for  the  night  just  where  she  was, 
unless  the  sun  showed  himself  to  tell  her  which  way  was  the  west ; 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  516 

for  in  her  turning  she  had  quite  lost,  as  she  put  it,  "the  com- 
bination. ' ' 

The  voice  now  came  nearer  and  nearer  although  it  seemed 
to  circle  round  and  round  her  and  its  owner  seemed  deaf  to 
her  oft-repeated  answering  "hallooes." 

Now  here  is  a  new  spirit-comrade  who  means  perhaps  to 
bear  me  company  for  the  night.  Why,  it  certainly  is  the  ancient 
Teuton  himself.  I  prayed  God  to  deliver  me  and  behold,  He 
has  sent  the  devil  himself  to  my  aid.  It  is  of  no  use  bellowing 
myself  hoarse  trying  to  call  against  that  wind.  If  the  old 
fellow  is  not  blind,  as  well  as  deaf,  he  will  see  me.  So  again 
she  sat  herself  down  by  the  side  of  the  great  bundle,  which 
being  wrapped  in  a  white  sheet  she  hoped  would  be  visible  for 
some  distance,  and  calmly  awaited  the  advance  of  the  Teuton. 
When  he  arrived  she  accepted  his  proffered  arm  to  the  house, 
which  was  yet  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away,  leaving  the  bundle 
which  held  the  most  valuable  of  her  possessions  to  be  brought 
at  a  later  hour  by  the  old  man,  who  would  not  permit  her  to 
remain  at  the  cabin  which  was  near  at  hand,  but  hastened  her 
toward  the  larger  and  more  habitable  house,  not,  however,  be- 
fore she  had  quenched  her  consuming  thirst  with  a  rusty  pailful 
of  the  living  waters. 

Arrived  safely  at  the  house  the  old  man  hospitably  set 
out  some  cold  coffee  and  hastened  back  after  her  deserted 
bundle,  for  now  that  the  sun  had  fully  set,  it  would  be  dark  in 
no  time,  and  the  clouds  drooped  with  ominous  darkness,  fore- 
telling a  near  approaching  storm. 

The  woman  eagerly  quaffed  the  coffee  and  stretched  her 
weary,  aching  limbs  upon  a  bed  which  she  had  stumbled  over 
in  the  darkness  of  the  unknown  house,  but  not  to  sleep  nor  even 
to  rest. 


516  LA    GRAN    QUIBIRA 

CANTO  THE  TENTH. 

"A  MIDSUMMER  NIGHT 's  DREAM." 

It  would  seem  now  as  if  hell  had  broken  loose. 

At  the  moment  the  woman  had  entered  the  door,  she  had 
been  startled  by  what  seemed  to  be  the  click  of  a  telegraph 
machine  in  full  operation.  And  so  soon  as  she  thought  the 
old  German  to  be  out  of  hearing,  she  spoke,  according  to  her 
usual  custom  when  any  new  development  in  this  strange  spir- 
itualistic manifestation  occurred,  but  without  success.  The 
machine  was  operated  by  some  unknown  and  unseen  operator 
within  another  room,  which  she  was  afraid  to  enter  not  knowing 
but  that  there  might  be  some  trap  set  within  its  unknown 
precincts  for  prying  feet,  and  kept  up  its  ''click,  click,  click," 
with  continuous  sound  which  was  both  unintelligible  and  inex- 
plicable to  her. 

Then  in  the  ghostly  twilight  the  room  wherein  she  lay 
filled  with  yet  more  ghostly  figures.  She  heard  shrieks  and 
groans  while  face  after  face  peered  into  her  own  from  out 
this  semi-darkness,  for  the  old  man  had  not  waited  to  light  a 
candle  before  starting. 

The  woman  really  welcomed  the  return  of  the  aged  Teuton, 
for  although  the  sounds  went  on  without  the  least  abating, 
yet  there  was  some  sense  of  companionship  in  the  mere  fact  that 
he  was  there. 

By  the  time  the  old  German  returned  with  the  woman's 
bundle,  it  was  too  late  to  think  of  cooking,  and  they  partook 
of  a  cold  lunch  before  retiring.  Over  this  the  conversation,  as 
was  usual  in  this  place,  took  a  ghostly  turn.  The  German, 
unlike  most  of  his  people,  had  no  faith  in  spiritualism.  But 
he  added  his  quota  to  the  stories  which  the  woman  related 
more  for  the  purpose  of  drawing  him  out  than  for  any  other 
by  giving  his  version  of  the  story  of  Sister  Eulalie,  (which 
he  pronounced  as  near  as  may  be,  "Eye-law-lee,"  with  the 
accent  upon  the  second  syllable). 

Supper  over,  the  German  gave  up  to  his  guest  the  one 


A.  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  .      517 

bed  which  the  house  afforded,  and  betook  himself  to  the  room 
which  was  used  as  a  store. 

It  was  impossible  for  the  woman  to  sleep.  Not  only  was 
the  air  which  swept  through  the  room  in  which  she  lay  charged 
to  the  utmost  with  electricity,  but  it  seemed  filled  with  warn- 
ings of  personal  danger  to  her  as  well.  The  lightning  flashed 
continuously,  illuminating  the  place  with  their  vivid  flames,  but 
with  a  stillness  that  was  more  awfully  significant  than  would 
have  been  the  crash  of  thunder.  And  the  woman,  accustomed 
now  to  the  signals  of  the  air,  said :  ' '  It  was  meant  that  this  house 
be  annihilated  this  night.  But  I  am  here,  and  the  edict  must  be 
set  aside  for  I  am  to  be  spared.  But  for  what?  Unless  it  be 
to  bring  to  light  the  terrible  deeds  committed  here  in  secret 
and  to  uncover  the  water  and  the  treasure  for  the  good  of 
the  many." 

Each  time  the  lightning  quivered  through  the  room,  a 
strange  crackling  sound  as  of  the  riving  of  the  timbers  of  the 
house,  succeeded.  Three  times  the  woman  arose  and  drew  the 
couch  upon  which  she  had  stretched  her  weary  limbs,  without, 
however,  disrobing,  closer  into  the  open  doorway,  for  it  seemed 
to  her  she  felt  the  floor  giving  way  beneath  it.  And  as  this 
movement  of  the  floor  was  accompanied  by  a  sound  as  of  the 
rattling  of  heavy  chains,  she  really  feared  she  had  fallen  into 
a  human  man-trap.  But  the  fact  that  she  seemed  by  her 
presence  to  hold  the  elements  in  check,  gave  her  confidence 
at  length;  and  when  she  felt  this  movement  of  the  floor,  she 
simply  arose  and  stood  for  a  time  in  the  open  doorway  making 
noise  enough  to  show  any  one,  should  such  there  be,  who  was 
watching  and  waiting  to  ensnare  her,  that  she  too  watched  in 
wakefulness. 

Then  the  light  which  filled  the  room  was  fearsome  in  itself. 
For  it  was  of  the  hue  of  blood,  which,  however,  darkened  at 
times  into  a  dull  and  lurid  glare,  as  that  of  flames  that  yet 
gloated  over  the  object  they  had  consumed,  and  the  heat  of 
the  sulphurous  smoke  was  almost  overpowering. 

Something  was  about  to  transpire  which  it  was  intended 
she  should  be  prevented  from  witnessing.  She  knew  this 
by  the  singing  of  the  dreadful  spider  in  her  ear,  and  by  the 
hands  which  strove  to  mesmerize  her  into  sleep. 

Then  this  silent  storm  gave  place  to  a  thunderous  uproar; 
yet  no  rain  fell  except  from  the  woman's  eyes,  for  she  was 


518  LA   GRAN    QUIBIRA 

now  so  weak  from  the  unwonted  excitement  and  exertions  of 
the  day,  and  so  full  of  disappointment  at  not  even  yet  being 
able  to  get  away  from  this  horrible  place,  so  overcharged  with 
the  electricity  which  filled  and  crashed  through  the  air,  that 
for  once,  be  it  confessed,  she  gave  way  to  tears.  But  her  tears 
could  not  blind  her,  her  sobs  could  not  deafen  her,  to  the 
sights  and  the  sounds  around  about  her. 

Her  cot  was  now  drawn  out  into  the  open  doorway  and 
she  faced  the  hill  upon  which  the  ruins  stood  directly  to  the 
east.  Late  in  the  night  a  calm  settled  over  all,  and  in  front 
of  her  the  moon  rose  in  all  its  glory. 

"Was  it  the  moon?" 

It  appeared  to  have  a  lurid,  flame-like  tinge  and  seemed  to 
flash  up  into  a  light  more  like  that  of  a  huge  camp-fire  crowning 
the  summit  of  La  Gran  Quibira  hill.  This  somehow  consoled 
her  and  quieted  her  fears.  The  presence  of  human  beings  so 
near  to  her  was  a  relief  for  she  thought  that  in  case  of  an 
attack  her  cries  might  be  heard  by  them.  With  wide-open 
eyes,  she  stared  and  stared.  Figures  crowded  close  about  her 
in  the  darkness  of  the  room,  and  with  movement  and  voice 
seemed  to  bend  all  their  powers  to  attract  her  attention  to 
themselves. 

There  was  here  a  woman,  young  and  fair,  but  whose  features 
were  distorted  by  bodily  pain,  who  standing  near  the  opposite 
wall,  her  hands  clasped  about  herself  as  if  to  still  or  to  hide 
her  pain,  came  quickly  toward  the  woman,  and  stretching  out 
her  arms  to  her  in  an  agonized  appeal,  disclosed  the  shameful 
secret  of  her  own  undoing. 

Then  there  was  the  gurgling  and  the  struggles  of  one 
who  was  being  choked  to  death,  who  with  his  last  shuddering 
breath  managed  to  articulate  thrice:  "Murder!  Murder! 
Murder!" 

There  was  one  who  swung  from  a  gibbet  to  and  fro,  in 
fearful  proximity  to  her  couch,  but  his  head  with  its  broken 
neck  hung  so  low  upon  his  breast  she  could  not  distinguish  his 
features.  Yet  although  he  spoke  no  word  something  seemed  to 
tell  her  that  this  man  had  suffered  death  for  the  crime  of 
another. 

What  other? 

Why  the  whole   air  resounded  with   his   name.     It  was 


A  MUSICAL,  MYSTERY  619 

shrieked  and  sobbed  and  groaned  and  sighed  and  whispered 
by  multitudes  of  voices,  which  would  give  to  her  no  other 
explanation.  Yet  all  appeared  to  appeal  to  her  for  aid,  to  her, 
the  most  physically  helpless  of  all  living  creatures.  They  would 
not  or  could  not  answer  the  questions  of  the  woman  put  in  a 
stifled  voice,  that  it  might  not  attract  the  attention  of  the  old 
German  in  the  room  adjoining  her,  who  appeared  to  be  asleep. 
Yet  all  seemed  to  say:  "Behold!  It  is  I!  This  is  the  death 
which  I  suffered  at  the  hands  of !" 

And  the  woman  knew  by  this  very  striving  upon  the  part 
of  these  poor  wretches  to  fix  her  attention  upon  themselves, 
and  by  the  close  guard  that  was  kept  outside,  from  the  oft- 
repeated  signals  of  the  bird-watchers  who  seemed,  now  that 
the  storm  was  ended,  to  fill  the  outside  world  with  their  forms 
and  music,  and  from  the  figures  of  the  guard,  that  was  doubled 
and  doubled  again  as  she  gazed,  until  they  marched  in  an  un- 
broken line  just  outside  the  enclosure  around  the  building,  that 
something  was  about  to  transpire  she  was  not  wanted  to  see. 

Then  in  the  distance  the  hell-hound  kept  up  an  incessant 
baying.  For  it  would  seem  she  had  called  him  up  during  her 
daring  journey  down  the  hill  and  into  the  very  heart  of  the 
enemy's  camp.  En  route  along  that  downward  journey  into 
hades,  as  she  had  declared  to  herself,  she  had  heard  his  angry 
yelp,  first  upon  one  side  of  her  and  then  upon  the  other,  and 
in  fierce  remonstrance,  when  in  turning  she  had  mistaken  her 
bearings,  and  the  little  birds  had  shown  her  her  mistake  by 
twittering  and  singing:  "This  way.  This  way."  Nor  could 
this  have  been  fancy  for  they  always  proved  her  in  the  wrong. 
But  in  spite  of  all,  she  would  see  what  was  going  on  upon  the 
summit  of  the  hill. 

She  noted  with  wide  open  eyes  that  the  guard  was  doubled 
in  size  as  well  as  in  numbers,  and  that  the  gowns  of  the  inner- 
most line  (for  there  were  now  three  instead  of  one)  were 
streaked  and  spotted  with  blood,  while  the  white  and  flowing 
garments  of  the  second  line  were  banded  with  black  and  the 
third  were  shrouded  in  dark  robes  which  appeared  black  in 
the  uncertain  light.  But  although  the  pupils  of  the  woman's 
eyes  dilated  until  they  appeared  to  cover  the  iris  she  could 
not  distinguish  the  features  of  any.  For  all,  when  they  turned 
as  was  their  custom,  to  regard  her  curiously,  as  seemed  to  be 


520  LA  GRAN  QUIBIRA 

their  orders,  turned  their  backs  to  the  light  and  except  that 
their  eyes  shone  with  a  sort  of  phosphorescent  glare  upon  her, 
their  other  features  were  shaded  and  were  unrecognizable  at 
least  by  one  possessed  of  her  dim  vision.  She  noted,  however, 
with  a  certain  degree  of  triumph,  that  it  was  not  she  alone  who 
was  forbidden  the  sight  of  what  was  going  on,  but  that  the 
outermost  row  of  her  guards  had  the  hoods  which  enveloped 
their  heads  drawn  close  about  their  faces,  from  which  gleamed 
their  threatening  eyes,  and  that  they  never,  as  did  the  rest, 
turned  toward  the  wonderful  light  that  shone  upon  the  hill-top. 
' '  Aha ! "  she  said.  "  So  it  is  forbidden  to  thee  as  well.  Thou 
art  here  only  to  hold  me  a  prisoner  within  the  limits  set  for  me 
and  dare  not,  as  I  dare,  turn  thy  gaze  upon  the  mysteries." 

So  when  her  curiosity  was  satisfied  with  regard  to  these 
strange  beings  from  another  world,  and  as  to  their  object  to 
call  off  her  own  attention  from  what  was  going  on  above  by 
centering  it  in  fear  upon  themselves  and  their  movements,  she 
said  with  a  laugh:  ''Thou  art  at  thine  old  tricks  I  see.  But 
I  know  thy  tricks  and  manners  now,  and  in  spite  of  thee  I 
will  see." 

The  moon  rose  (it  surely  was  the  moon)  in  all  its  rounded 
symmetry  and  perfection  of  beauty.  And  its  pale,  serene 
radiance  filled  the  woman  with  something  of  its  own  calm 
serenity,  as  its  disc  rested  upon  the  summit  of  the  haunted  hill. 
The  loom  of  destiny  rose  and  fell  between  but  she  viewed  the 
moon  through  its  bars. 

And  not  the  spider,  which  would  have  lulled  her  senses 
to  unconsciousness ;  nor  the  ghostly  visitors,  who  caused  a  shudder 
of  repugnance  to  quiver  through  her;  nor  the  birds;  nor  the 
hell-hound;  nor  the  triple  line  of  guards  around  her,— singly 
or  together,  were  able  thenceforward  to  distract  her  attention 
from  the  wonderful  spectacle  presented  to  her  gaze. 

Even  as  she  looked  the  rounded  disc  of  the  moon  spread  out 
and  flared  up  like  a  gigantic  fire;  then  burst  open  as  it  were, 
with  a  crash,  as  if  all  of  the  electric  fires  which  had  played 
about  the  vicinity  early  in  the  night  had  been  gathered  together 
and  had  exploded  there.  Great  balls  of  the  white  light,  which 
was  like  unto,  yet  was  not,  fire,  filled  the  air.  Then  they  fell 
to  the  earth,  and  rolled  hither  and  thither  over  the  hillside 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  521 

and  adown  it,  lighting  up  its  uneven  rocky  surface  with  a  light 
as  of  the  day.  Gigantic  forms  flitted  to  and  fro,  stooping  to 
gather  together  the  scattered  light.  And  each,  as  it  rose,  was 
seen  now  to  carry  a  lighted  torch,  by  whose  light  they  appeared 
to  scan  the  ground  anew,  raising  something  at  times  which  it 
was  impossible  for  the  woman  to  name. 

But  what  seemed  strangest  of  all  to  her  was  the  fact 
that,  as  was  ever  the  case,  the  attention  of  all  seemed  directed 
to  herself. 

Why? 

Ah,  that  was  the  question  she  could  not  solve,  for  all  the 
answer  to  her  oft-repeated  and  wondering  queries  was  but 
that  indefinable  sense  which  always  took  possession  of  her  at 
such  times,  that  at  some  time  she  had  taken  a  prominent  part 
in  these  mysteries,  and  this  took  possession  of  her  now.  Yet, 
tax  her  memory  as  she  might,  she  could  not  arrive  at  any  clear 
comprehension  of  the  mysteries. 

In  spite  of  the  repeated  warnings  of  bird  and  beast  and 
guards,  she  arose  and  wrapped  the  soiled  mantle  about  her, 
which  still  showed  white  in  the  moonlight,  she  stood  in  the 
open  doorway,  her  eyes  dilated  to  their  fullest  size,  her  unbound 
hair  falling  in  disheveled,  waving  masses  over  her  shoulders, 
her  face  gleaming  white  and  eager  in  the  moonlight,  except 
when  the  bursting  flames  dyed  it  to  a  tawny  red. 

Every  sense  was  upon  the  alert  yet.  The  woman  laughed 
back  defiantly  into  the  threatening  eyes  that  gleamed  in  half- 
suppressed  fury  upon  her.  For  there  was  ever  present  at  such 
tmes,  the  conviction  which  possessed  her  that  this  was  a  case 
of  mistaken  identity,  and  that  although  she,  too,  seemed  to  take 
the  part  of  a  looker-on  in  scenes  in  which  she  had  at  some 
time  or  another  in  the  dimly-outlined  past  taken  an  active  part, 
yet  she  was  not  the  person  for  whom  they  all  took  her. 

After  each  explosion,  gigantic  forms  flitted  hither  and 
thither  amid  the  hissing  of  flames,  gathering  up  the  fragments 
scattered  by  them.  But  of  what?  Strain  her  vision  as  she 
might  it  was  not  possible  for  the  woman  to  see,  and  equally 
impossible  (vivid  as  was  her  imagination)  to  guess. 

Then  as  the  moon  rose  higher  leaving  a  space  greater  and 
greater  as  the  hours  sped  on,  between  its  rounded  disc  and 
the  earth  over  which  it  hovered,  she  beheld  it  dip  and  dip  again 


522  LA   GRAN  QUIBIRA 

until  it  seemed  to  touch  the  earth,  and  its  radiance  was  scat- 
tered, as  it  were,  over  each  portion  of  the  hillside  down  into 
the  depths  of  the  draw  in  which  the  house,  wherein  she  was 
supposed  to  be  asleep,  was  situated. 

Then  the  great  loom  was  set  in  motion  and  acted,  too,  as 
standards  to  huge  windlasses  which  drew  up  and  cast  forth 
streams  and  masses  of  electric  light  and  fire  and  grasped  them 
again,  buried  them  in  the  earth  which  gave  way  before  it  at 
every  point,  and  swallowed  it  up  eagerly  as  if  athirst  for  light. 

The  heat  was  almost  intolerable,  but  the  woman  laughed 
and  clapped  her  hands.  She  was  a  spectator  to  what  it  has 
perhaps  never  been  granted  to  human  eyes  to  witness  before— 
of  what  had  so  far  as  she  was  aware  never  been  described  by 
mortal— the  fructifying  of  the  earth,  by  charging  it  with 
electricity.  She,  as  others,  had  believed  all  this  to  be  done  by 
the  sun,  but  here  she  was  an  eye  witness  to  the  fact  that  proved 
her  theory  of  masculine  works  imperfect  and  incomplete  without 
the  aid  of  feminine  help,  and  the  woman  was  in  triumph  that 
the  finest  touches — the  "finishing  up"  was  by  the  moon. 

Time  after  time  was  this  work  repeated  until  the  moon 
began  in  its  wane  to  pale  and  die.  The  woman  laughed  and 
cried  unmindful  now  of  the  danger  of  attracting  the  attention 
of  the  ancient  Teuton  who  was,  however,  fast  asleep  if  the  thun- 
derous snores  to  which  he  gave  voice  were  any  indication  of 
his  condition. 

Day  was  breaking  in  the  east  when  the  woman  lay  down 
again,  to  doze  for  a  few  moments,  before  she  heard  the  old  man 
astir.  Then  she  got  up  and  went  out  to  the  cook-room  to  say 
good  morning  to  him,  with  the  same  luminous  light  upon 
her  face  which  had  been  there  after  her  other  stolen  vision — 
that  of  the  ascension.  When  the  old  German  remarked  it,  as 
Laurence  Jerome  had  done  upon  that  other  occasion,  she  gave 
vent  to  that  little  nervous,  happy  laugh  of  hers,  which  was  so 
enigmatic  and  consequently  so  annoying  to  many  of  her  ac- 
quaintance, and  bowed  her  thanks  for  his  out-spoken  compli- 
ment, but  said  never  a  word  in  explanation. 

Once  again  she  had  tasted  of  stolen  and  forbidden  fruit 
and  again  was  she  refreshed  and  not  sickened  by  it,  so  she 
could  afford  to  be  careless  of  the  consequences  to  herself. 


A  MUSICAL,  MYSTERY  523 

CANTO  THE  ELEVENTH. 

"ROSARIO,  THE  GLORIOUS — HE  HATH  RISEN/' 

She  had  returned  to  the  hill-top,  this  woman  who  had 
taken  such  a  hasty  and  uncertain  flight  from  it.  She  had 
returned  once  again  unaided  to  attempt  to  ferret  out  the  mystery 
and  to  accomplish  that  sacrifice  here  to  which  she  had  dedicated 
herself.  And  the  theme  of  the  story  of  Orpheus  and  Eurydice 
was  once  more  blending  with  her  thoughts  of  other  things,  for 
the  haunting  voices  in  the  secret  vaults  beneath  her  were  never 
for  a  moment  stilled. 

Just  before  the  woman  had  descended  to  the  operating 
room  of  the  great  St.  Francis  Hospital,  a  few  months  previous 
to  this,  she  had  signed  her  last  will  and  testament,  as  the 
paper  which  she  now  held  in  her  hand  showed.  Her  signature 
was  witnessed,  as  she  had  intended,  by  the  hospital  physician 
and  by  two  of  the  leading  physicians  of  the  city.  This  will  had 
been  made  with  a  view  to  the  great  sacrifice  she  believed  herself 
called  upon  to  make  for  the  salvation  of  all  mankind,  which  she 
had  taught  herself  to  believe  was  her  true  mission  upon  the 
earth. 

She  had  asked  herself:  "Is  this  sacrifice  to  be  for  all?" 
And  the  answer  had  been,  "For  all." 

"For  love?" 

And  she  had  truthfully  answered:  "No.  Some  I  love, 
some  I  hate,  for  others  I  have  only  contempt,  but  to  most,  I 
am  utterly  indifferent." 

"And  will  this  half-hearted  sacrifice  avail?" 

"Yes,  for  it  will  release  and  enable  to  perfect  His  great 
work,  One  whom  I  love,  and  Who  through  His  own  great  love 
for  all,  will,  by  the  aid  of  this  sacrifice,  fulfill  His  destiny  and 
redeem  all  mankind." 

"But,"  she  said,  "I  will  take  the  precaution  to  place  my 
Banity  beyond  question  or  doubt  For  the  many  will  see  in  this 
act  only  a  commonplace  suicide,  and  this  treasure  must  be 
unearthed  and  devoted  to  the  good  work  which  can  alone  lift 
from  off  it  the  double  curse  of  God  and  of  man." 


524  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

By  this  will  she  had  provided  that  the  work,  the  com- 
pletion of  which,  were  it  denied  to  her  living,  should  yet  be 
accomplished  by  her,  dead,  through  her  heirs,  and  the  riches 
thus  obtained  be  devoted  to  the  end  she  had  in  view — that  of 
lifting  from  hundreds  the  care  of  obtaining  a  mere  livelihood 
for  themselves  and  placing  their  families  beyond  the  necessity 
of  keeping  their  thoughts  upon  matters  of  the  earth  alone,  thus 
preventing  them  from  thinking  except  in  a  desultory  sort  of  way 
of  the  things  beyond  the  grave.  Yet  not  wishing  to  give  any 
one  person  too  much  authority  in  this  matter  she  had  not  men- 
tioned the  place,  nor  had  she  described  the  situation  of  the 
treasure- vaults  in  the  will  itself;  but  had  left  a  letter  of  in- 
structions that  minutely  described  all  this,  and  which  was  to 
have  been  placed  in  safe  hands,  to  be  produced  only  when 
her  own  death  had  been  proven  beyond  question.  This  letter, 
as  I  said  had  been  duly  written,  but,  in  the  hurry  and  worry 
of  the  new  experiences  which  had  trodden  closely  upon  the 
heels  of  one  another,  she  found  to  her  dismay,  when  far  away, 
cut  off  from  all  connection  with  the  outside  world,  she  had 
never  sent  it  to  the  keeper  whom  she  had  chosen. 

How  did  she  recognize  it? 

Ah,  they  who  are  afflicted  find  it  necessary  to  resort  to 
many  strange  expedients,  and  by  a  certain  number  of  pins 
stuck  into  the  envelope  which  enclosed  this  most  important 
document  the  woman  knew  it  for  what  it  was,  and  wishing 
now  to  add  to  it  many  other  things  made  necessary  by  what  she 
had  beheld  during  her  recent  visit  to  the  treasure  vaults,  she 
deliberately  destroyed  the  missive,  without  which  her  will 
meant  nothing,  and  set  herself  to  work  to  write  a  more  com- 
prehensive one  from  the  new  light  which  had  been  thrown  upon 
everything  considered,  by  this  visit. 

When  she  had  armed  herself  with  the  implements  for  her 
task  (pen,  ink  and  paper)  and  had  blackened  the  edge  of  a 
lonig  envelope  to  guide  her  imperfect  vision,  such  as  children 
use  in  their  first  attempts  to  write  upon  unruled  paper,  the 
first  thing  she  did  was  to  chide  herself. 

"How  silly  of  me,"  she  said,  "to  destroy  that  letter  before 
I  had  written  another.  Who  knows  what  may  even  now  occur 
to  prevent  me  from  completing  a  second  letter  of  the  necessary 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  525 

instructions."     So  she  set  to  work  with  what  speed  she  might 
for  she  felt  somehow  that  her  time  was  short. 

The  early  morning  was  beyond  most  mornings  beautiful. 
She  had  arisen  early,  as  was  her  wont,  greeted  the  sun  upon 
his  first  appearance  with  her  accustomed  song  of  praise  and 
prayer,  prepared  and  partaken  of  her  frugal  breakfast  of  coffee 
and  bread,  then  had  set  herself  in  earnest  to  her  task.  But 
her  nerves  seemed  strung  to  their  utmost  tension  and  she  felt 
more  strongly  than  usual  that  feeling  of  expectancy  which 
somehow  she  had  learned  of  late  to  connect  with  her  memory  of 
the  priest,  whom  she  believed  to  be  dead,  for  after  the  farewell 
of  her  dream  in  which  he  had  come  to  her  with  such  distinct- 
ness and  which  had  followed  that  vision  of  the  empty  chapel 
of  the  hospital,  the  woman  had  ceased  to  think  of  him  as  a 
living  friend. 

But  she  would  not  permit  her  mind  to  dwell  upon  the 
priest,  for  she  must  finish  her  appointed  task.  So,  with  pen  to 
her  lips  she  meditated  upon  the  letter  she  must  write. 

But  as  her  pen  came  in  contact  with  the  paper  to  write 
the  very  first  sentence,  she  was  aroused  by  the  sound  of  a  quick, 
light,  yet  resolute  step.  That  sound  had  long  ago  been  familiar 
to  her,  but  even  as  it  roused  her,  she  noted  that  the  step  was 
less  quick,  less  light,  less  elastic  and  less  resolute  than  she  had 
known  it  in  other  days. 

The  woman  turned  and  arose  with  that  slow  deliberation 
of  movement  which  sat  so  strangely  upon  one  so  impulsive 
as  she,  and  there  in  the  opening  of  her  tent,  she  beheld  just 
what  she  had  expected  yet  dreaded  to  see— the  figure  of  the 
priest,  who  with  a  haughty,  imperative  movement  had  raised 
his  hand  in  the  customary  blessing  upon  the  rude  domicile. 

"Thou?" 

And  "Thou?"  was  their  simultaneous  cry. 

Then  the  woman  held  up  her  finger  playfully,  which  stayed 
his  approach,  as  she  said:  "I  have  been  expecting  thee.  But 
art  in  the  flesh  or  in  the  spirit,  father?" 

"In  both"  he  replied,  and  came  swiftly  forward  to  take 
her  in  a  close  embrace.  His  voice  had  a  pathos  which  touched 
her  heart  as  it  said:  "Marguerite,  Marguerite,  tell  me  at  last 
dost  thou  love  me?" 


526  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

"Quien  sabef"  was  her  careless  answer  as  she  freed 
hrself  from  his  embrace. 

The  man  shook  from  head  to  foot  with  the  sudden  chill  of 
terror  which  came  over  him  at  her  words.  "And  was  it  for 
this" — he  cried  in  an  agony  of  fear.  "Is  it  for  this  that  I  have 
suffered  all  things?  For  this  that  I  have  fought  out  the  battle 
with  myself  and  won  the  victory  only  to  lose  all  again?  Oh 
woman,  woman,  what  evil  hast  thou  wrought  upon  me.  Is  it  for 
this,  Marguerite,  that  I  endured  the  tortures  of  the  damned, 
forswore  my  priestly  vows,  and  came  hither  to  share  thy 
solitude?" 

His  tone  of  passionate  sorrow  was  more  than  she  could 
bear.  He  was  close  to  her,  so  close  that  even  her  dim  vision 
could  note  the  shrunken  frame,  and  the  wan,  white  face,  upon 
which  rested  in  this  moment  an  expression  of  such  unutterable 
anguish  and  regret  as  she  had  never  seen  except  upon  the  face 
of  Him  who  suffered  for  all  humanity,  and  that  only  in  the 
throes  of  death. 

She  would  not  have  been  a  woman,  had  her  cold  heart  not 
melted.  So  she  heaved  a  little  regretful  sigh  and  immolated 
herself  upon  the  altar  of  womanhood,  and  looking  into  the  eyes 
which  were  bright  with  that  unnatural  light  that  bespeaks  the 
stealthy  approach  of  death,  she  took  the  worn  and  attenuated 
face  of  the  priest  between  her  hands,  and  saying  softly :  ' '  It  is 
for  this,"  she  touched  her  lips  lightly  to  his. 

The  touch  was  like  fire  to  him,  bringing  to  him  life  and 
hope  and  triumphant  joy.  His  face  was  illumined  with  a 
sudden  radiance.  He  drew  her  close  to  him  and  gave  her  kiss 
for  kiss.  Then  he  broke  down  utterly,  and  hiding  his  face  upon 
her  bosom,  he  sobbed  and  cried  and  told  in  broken  snatches 
the  story  of  that  long  and  weary  battle  he  had  fought  with 
himself  and  his  belief,  before  his  love  for  her— a  woman—  over- 
came all. 

"I  could  not  live  without  thee,  Marguerite,"  he  sobbed 
again  and  yet  again. 

And  she  answered  lightly  as  was  her  wont:  "But  thou 
canst  not  live  with  me.  Custom  forbids,  and  so  do  thy  priestly 
vows. ' ' 

"For  thy  sake,  I  tell  thee,  I  have  forsworn  them."  And 
the  woman  was  sorely  puzzled  and  angered,  too,  for  she  had 


A  MUSICAL  MYSTERY  527 

experienced  that  same  sense  of  repugnance  to  his  touch  she  had 
so  frequently  felt  before,  and  she  knew  she  could  not  make 
this  man's  happiness  nor  hers.  Yet  her  heart  was  soft  and 
tender  and  was  remorseful  within  her,  and  she  had  not  the 
heart  to  say  him  "Nay,"  at  least  not  now.  For  she  saw  that 
death  had  set  his  seal  upon  her  priestly  lover's  form,  and  she 
hoped,  too,  that  death  would  offer  her,  her  own  release.  So  she 
said:  "I  cannot  make  thee  happy.  But  I  see  that  it  will  take 
long  to  convince  thee  of  this.  There  is  no  great  hurry  either. 
For  thou  wilt  remain  for  some  time  and  there  will  be  plenty 
of  time  to  talk  it  all  over.  Thou  must  rest  and  refresh  thee 
now." 

He  answered  her  with  a  triumphant  smile — that  smile  of 
possession,  which  was  so  irritating  to  this  proud  woman,  who 
felt  that  she  was  sufficient  unto  herself — and  said:  "Thou  art 
mine,  Marguerite.  There  was  love  in  thy  eyes,  there  was  love 
in  thy  voice,  there  was  love  in  the  kiss  thou  gavest  me.  I  am 
not  weary  in  the  least.  I  am  filled  instead  with  a  sense  of  joy 
and  peace,  and  contentment  unutterable.  So  we  will  wait  As 
thou  sayest,  we  will  have  ample  time  in  which  to  argue  the 
point  Now  that  I  know  thy  heart,  I  can  afford  to  wait." 

Then  they  had  gone  for  a  stroll  about  the  quaint  old  place, 
and  had  returned,  he  to  lie  down  to  rest,  for  he  was  weaker  in 
body  than  he  thought,  she  to  go  on  with  her  unfinished  letter, 
and  to  hope  not  only  for  respite  but  for  release  from  this  new 
and  half-formed  tie  which  had  already  become  most  distasteful 
to  her.  The  letter  was  yet  unfinished.  It  was  the  work  of  a 
longer  time  than  she  had  thought,  as  she  took  up  the  work  of 
its  completion!  only  at  such  times  as  courtesy  to  her  guest 
permitted. 

The  priest  had  but  now  gone  out  for  a  solitary  stroll 
among  the  ruins  of  the  church  and  monastery,  which  held  the 
same  fascination  for  him  as  for  every  one  who  visited  them. 
None  but  the  woman  could  explain  this  wierd  fascination  which 
took  possession  of  all  alike,  and  she  had  become  wary  of  airing 
what  most  people  called  her  insane  theories. 

She  knew  it  was  the  spirits  of  the  dead  and  gone  priests 
and  saintly  friars  (who  should,  according  to  his  belief,  be  at  this 
moment  enjoying  at  least  the  blisses  of  Paradise,  and  who 
would,  perhaps,  but  for  that  greed  for  gold  which  had  led  them 


528  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

to  hide  away  beneath  the  earth  the  wealth  needed  to  make 
many  happy  and  content  and  willing  to  turn  to  God,  but  who 
now  must  remain  upon  guard  over  these  riches  until  some  one 
restored  them  to  the  uses  for  which  they  were  created),  who 
were  calling  to  his  deaf  ears  for  their  release  from  that  duty 
which  bound  them  still  to  earth. 

Again  the  woman  had  seated  herself  to  write  but  had  made 
slow  progress,  when  she  was  interrupted  by  the  return  of  the 
priest,  who  could  not  long  remain  away  from  her  side.  The 
woman  arose  to  greet  him,  her  pen  still  in  hand,  and  the  two 
stood  conversing  before  the  entrance  to  her  tent.  His  own 
small  wigwam  stood  near  by  and  added  a  certain  picturesque- 
ness  to  the  scene.  The  woman's  eyes  were  often  upraised  to 
the  heavens  which  foretold  a  storm,  as  if  she  expected  some- 
thing, while  those  of  the  priest  never  left  her  face.  For  when 
was  man  in  love  ever  known  to  regard  aught  else  when  love's 
object  was  at  his  side? 

Much  had  been  said,  and  the  woman  had  at  length  become 
so  interested  in  the  topic  under  discussion  as  to  lose  that  sense 
of  expectancy,  and  then  when  least  looked  for  (for  such  things 
are  among  the  surprises  of  life),  then  the  summons  came. 

"Marguerite  Zorlange-St.  Aubyn- Jerome. "  The  voice 
was  of  the  world  beyond,  stern,  resonant,  and  deeply  rich  and 
solemn  in  tone. 

The  woman  laughed.  "And  some  there  be  who  question, 
'What's  in  a  name?'  "  she  said. 

It  may  have  been  fancy  or  an  oft-repeated  echo,  but  it 
seemed  as  if  the  laugh  was  repeated  again  and  yet  again  by 
countless  voices  of  the  air,  dying  away  at  length  in  a  soft  rip- 
pling murmur  in  the  distant  skies. 

The  woman  glanced  hurriedly  at  the  priest.  Had  he  heard 
the  call? 

Yes,  for  he  was  looking  upward  to  the  heavens  from  whence 
the  voice  had  come,  and  was  now  telling  his  beads  fast  and 
furiously.  She  felt  a  little  proud  of  him  that  in  his  eyes  was 
the  expression  only  of  great  surprise  and  not  of  fear. 

But  noting  his  action  she  said:  "Poor  fellow.  And  he 
believes  that  he  could  forswear  his  priestly  vows  and  find  a 
happiness  greater  in  woman's  love  than  in  his  religion.  He 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  529 

would  soon  tire  and  his  heart  would  break."  And  in  this 
thought  she  quite  forgot  to  answer  the  commanding  voice. 

This  may  have  been  fancy  also,  but  the  voice  itself  seemed 
to  tremble  with  suppressed  laughter  as  it  repeated  with  added 
severity:  "Marguerite  Zorlange-St.  Aubyn- Jerome. " 

And  this  time  the  woman  forgot  all  else,  and  answered 
solemnly,  "Here  am  I,  Lord,  what  is  thy  will?" 

But  no  answer  was  vouchsafed  her.  Nothing  appeared  in 
the  heavens. 

The  priest  told  his  beads  in  audible  voice.  His  eyes  had 
returned  and  rested  in  awe  upon  the  woman's  face. 

Then  breaking  in  upon  the  sacred  stillness  of  the  scene, 
came  the  sound  of  the  trampling  of  horses'  feet,  and  over  the 
hill-top  from  the  south  swept  a  company  of  three  horsemen. 

It  may  be  that  the  veil  was  for  the  moment  lifted  from 
before  the  woman's  almost  sightless'  eyes,  for  she  recognized  in 
the  leader,  even  at  that  distance,  he  whom  she  now  called 
"Judas  Iscariot."  And  she  felt  that  this  visit  of  her  dis- 
carded suitor,  Orville  Roumaine,  boded  no  good  to  herself, 
yet  she  bravely  stood  her  ground,  curious  to  learn  what  shape  his 
malignant  spite  would  now  assume. 

The  horsemen  bore  down  upon  them  rapidly.  And  now 
they  could  hear  their  cries  of,  "The  witch!  the  witch!  death 
to  the  witch!" 

They  paid  but  little  heed  to  the  presence  of  the  priest, 
to  his  upraised  hand,  or  his  warning  voice,  as  he  took  his  stand 
between  the  woman  he  loved  and  the  fierce  enemies  who  bore 
down  u)  rapidly  upon  her.  Rather  were  they  convinced  the 
more  certainly  of  her  uncanny  powers,  else  they  thought  the 
priest  would  not  have  been  at  her  side. 

But  the  woman  forced  him  backward  and  with  bold  and 
scornful  front  she  faced  them  as  they  came  to  within  fifty  feet 
or  so  from  where  she  stood. 

Then  she  raised  a  commanding  hand— the  one  which  still 
grasped  the  pen.  And  from  the  point  of  this  there  shot  a 
sudden  shaft  of  flame,  and  the  horsemen  and  their  horses  were 
checked  where  they  stood,  each  in  that  attitude  of  advance 
in  which  it  had  found  them.  They  looked  at  each  other  in 
terror.  Their  horses  could  not  be  forced  forward  one  single 


530  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

inch  from  where  they  stood.  But  when  the  woman's  hand  fell 
to  her  side  the  spell  was  broken,  for  they  obeyed  her  backward 
gesture,  and  retreated  many  yards. 

There  the  horsemen  consulted  together  and  rallied  their 
sunken  courage,  and  after  a  time  they  bore  down  upon  the  two 
in  the  same  pell-mell  way  as  if  they  would  carry  all  opposition 
before  them;  and  renewed  their  shouts  of,  "Death  to  the 
witch!  To  hell  with  the  witch!" 

They  fired  volley  after  volley  from  their  repeating  rifles, 
and  the  woman  laughed  that  irritating  laugh  of  hers  as  the 
bullets  whistled  and  then  fell  harmless  all  about  her,  and  she 
cried  in  answer  to  their  shouts  in  tones  of  aggravating  mockery, 
"Three  silver  bullets!  Hast  provided  thyselves  with  the  three 
silver  bullets  with  which  alone  thou  canst  hope  to  slay  a  witch?" 

And  when  the  horsemen  had  reached  the  spot  upon  which 
they  had  been  stayed  before,  and  no  sooner,  the  woman  again 
raised  a  commanding  hand. 

And  again  as  if  it  were  a  stroke  of  silent  lightning,  a  flame 
flashed  from  the  point  of  the  pen ;  and  again  were  her  assailants 
rooted  to  the  spot. 

The  consultation  they  now  held  was  longer  than  the  first, 
but  it  ended  in  their  once  more  spurring  their  unwilling  steeds 
to  the  attack. 

And  again  the  bullets  they  fired  as  they  galloped  fell 
harmlessly  around  the  woman  and  the  priest. 

The  woman's  mocking  voice  was  heard  taunting  them  and 
telling  them  that  the  thing  they  meditated  was  impossible,  that 
nothing  short  of  three  silver  bullets  would  suffice  to  cut  off 
the  earthly  existence  of  a  witch,  and  for  the  third  time  her  hand 
was  raised  and  there  shot  off  the  point  of  the  pen  within  her 
grasp  a  flash  which  was  now  accompanied  by  a  crash  as  of  all 
the  thunders  of  heaven  combined.  The  flash  of  light  broadened 
into  a  lurid  glare.  The  whole  earth  was  for  a  moment  illu- 
mined by  it  Then  a  sort  of  darkness  shrouded  the  scene 
and  when  this  lifted,  in  its  turn,  to  the  wonder  and  dismay 
even  of  the  woman  herself,  and  to  that  of  the  priest,  both  of 
whom  had  escaped  scathless,  the  horsemen  had  disappeared  as 
entirely  as  if  the  earth  had  yawned  and  engulfed  them. 

Then  of  a  sudden  it  seemed  to  occur  to  the  woman  that 
she  had  not  been  able  to  compass  this  wonderful  discovery  of 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  531 

herself.  And  she  glanced  hurriedly  behind  her,  where  rising 
higher  and  higher  upon  the  waves  of  the  air,  but  looking  back- 
ward and  down  upon  her  with  a  tender  smile,  she  beheld  a 
gigantic  winged  figure  more  grandly  beautiful  than  any  she 
had  hitherto  beheld." 

She  cried  beseechingly,  "Come  back!  Come  back!  Great 
Jove,  I  know  thee  now.  Come  back  and  take  me  with  thee. 
I  will  submit.  But  I  will  no  longer  remain  in  this  exile  upon 
the  earth." 

"Wait  but  a  little  longer  now,  and  I  will  return  for  thee," 
was  the  reply.  "Obey." 

"I  will  not  obey.  I  will  go  now,"  cried  the  woman  almost 
beside  herself  with  anger.  "I?"  And  repeated,  "I  will  never 
'obey.'  I  will  go  now."  Then  she  seized  upon  the  jewel- 
hilted  dagger  and  aimed  it  at  her  breast. 

The  figure  in  mid-air  saw,  and  with  a  cry  of  fear,  and  saying, 
"Wilt  thou  separate  thyself  from  me  forever?"  sped  a  bolt 
from  his  own  hand. 

The  thunderbolt  fell  harmless  as  had  the  bullets  of  the 
murderers.  The  hand  which  held  the  jeweled  dagger  seemed 
paralyzed,  the  blow  did  not  fall. 

Then  there  came  a  voice  from  out  the  blackness  that  had 
suddenly  overspread  the  heavens,  which  for  the  third  time  re- 
iterated the  summons:  "Marguerite  Zorlange-St.  Aubyn- 
Jerome,  is  this  thy  promised  sacrifice  f  And  is  it  made  for  all  1 " 

The  woman  hung  her  head  in  shame  and  in  remorse,  and  the 
tears  filled  her  eyes  as  she  answered:  "Forgive  me,  Lord.  It 
is  for  all,  if  indeed  Thou  wilt  accept  so  unworthy  a  gift." 

"Is  it  from  the  unselfish  love  thou  bearest  the  species?" 

And  the  woman  made  truthful  answer  as  she  had  done  to 
her  questioning  self,  "No.  Some  I  love;  a  few  I  hate;  for 
many  I  feel  only  contempt ;  but  to  the  fate  of  most  I  am  totally 
indifferent. ' ' 

Then  why?— Of  what  avail?"— b^gan  the  voice. 

But  the  woman  broke  in  with  the  assurance,  "It  is  that 
one,  whose  true  mission  it  is  to  redeem  his  fellowmen,  but  who 
failed  because  of  ignorance  of  the  whole  that  was  required  of 
him, —  (that  He  must  offer  up  the  sacrifice  of  his  soul  as  well 
as  that  of  his  body) — may  be  released  from  the  thralldom  in 


532  LA   GRAN   QUIBIRA 

which  he  suffers  so  continuously;  that  his  mission  may  be  re- 
stored to  him,  for  he  only  can  accomplish  it,— for  he  alone  is 
capable  of  loving  all  mankind  with  that  love  divine,— that  I 
offer  up  my  soul.  Accept  it,  Lord  God,  for  the  sake  of  the 
suffering  Jesus." 

Again  her  dagger  was  aimed  at  her  own  heart. 

Again  there  was  a  hoarse  cry  from  Jupiter.  And  once 
more  he  aimed  a  lightning  shaft,  crying,  ' '  She  is  mine. ' ' 

Then  up  from  the  earth  arose  another  majestic  form  whose 
face  was  that  of  Orville  Roumaine,  with  its  evil  beauty  inten- 
sified, his  graceful  form  enlarged  and  even  more  perfectly 
moulded,  and  Saturn  said,  "Let  her  accomplish  this  act.  For 
then  indeed,  she  shall  be  mine." 

Once  more  the  bolt  fell  short  and  tore  up  the  earth  in  its 
fury.  Again  the  sharp  blade  of  the  jeweled  dagger  found 
bloodless  sheath.  For  a  hand  cleft  the  thick  darkness  of 
the  black  cloud  which  brooded  low  over  the  place— a  hand  that 
was  more  beautiful  in  its  pearly  whiteness  than  human  imagin- 
ation can  conceive. 

The  hand  rested  for  a  moment  in  benediction  upon  the 
bowed  head  of  the  woman,  and  a  voice  whose  rich  melody  yet 
held  an  authority  which  would  admit  of  no  question  or  dispute, 
said  softly  as  the  hand  crept  downward  and  lifted  the  form 
of  the  woman  from  the  earth,  bearing  it  gently  upward,  "She 
is  mine." 

Great  Jupiter  groaned  but  dared  not  disobey,  and  turned 
sadly  toward  his  own  realm. 

Saturn  cursed  deeply  but  sped  away  quickly,  and  soon  was 
lost  to  view. 

And  up  from  the  earth  there  came  a  mourning  wail  from  one 
who  had  come  to  his  own  again,  liberated  by  that  moiety— & 
woman's  soul.  But  this  was  drowned  by  the  joyous  bleating 
of  the  weary  sheep  who  followed  him,  and  the  joyous  peals  of 
that  living  golden  bell — the  thrush  of  Paradise.  And  the 
Master  passed  away  murmuring,  "Marie,  Marie." 

And  as  the  woman  was  borne  aloft  by  that  beautiful  hand, 
forgetful  already  of  the  earth  and  its  sorrows,  and  forgetful 
as  well  of  that  haunted  spot  of  earth  which  had  somehow  taught 
her  the  lesson  of  the  great  sacrifice  required  of  her,  La  Gran 


A   MUSICAL  MYSTERY  533 

Quibira  was  left  desolate  and  bare,  with  its  hidden  treasures  still 
concealed,  where  they  must  remain  under  everlasting  seal. 

The  voice  of  the  woman  was  raised  in  glad  thanksgiving  to 
that  God  who  had  at  length  forgiven  her  for  the  follies  of  all 
former  lives  and  had  restored  her  to  favor  divine,  and  she  was 
borne  out  of  sight  by  that  beautiful,  strong  guiding  hand  which 
she  had  beheld  dimly  throughout  every  phase  of  those  unsat- 
isfied lives. 

Nothing  now  was  to  be  seen  upon  La  Gran  Quibira  hill 
but  the  upturned  face  of  the  priest,  which  gleamed  white  in 
the  darkness  of  the  over-hanging  clouds  through  which  the  rays 
of  the  setting  sun  were  forcing  their  way.  Nothing  but  the 
rigid  form  and  the  white  face  of  the  priest  with  the  life-blood 
streaming  from  between  his  pale  lips  and  pouring  thickly  down 
over  the  crucifix  grasped  tightly  in  his  dead  hand;  but  whose 
fast  gazing  blue  eyes  still  held  that  expression  of  ecstatic  joy, 
for  in  dying,  the  good  priest  believed  that  She,  the  Virgin 
Mary,  the  mother  of  Jesus,  Mary,  Queen  of  the  Heavens,  and 
Queen  Consort  of  the  Almighty,  had  stooped  from  her  high 
estate  to  teach  him,  the  poor  parish  priest,  the  power  of  earthly 
love,  and  from  it  by  comparison  that  of  love  divine. 

And — well — "Quien  sdbef" 

[THE  END.] 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


1*1 


MAR 


RENEWAL 
U)  URL 

REC-D  LB-Uj 


81985 


1985 


Form  L9-17m-8,'55(B3339s4)444 


I    3  1 158  OlOO?Tf? 
Tg  '  ' 


PS 

mu? 

C6ll?g 


